Honda Cars, Nissan Motor to merge soon to take on Toyota Motor, Tesla: Report

Honda Cars, Nissan Motor to merge soon to take on Toyota Motor, Tesla: Report

  • Honda Cars and Nissan Motor are among the top three carmakers from Japan that also operate in India.
Two of the Japanese auto giants, Honda Cars and Nissan Motor, are reportedly considering a merger in the coming days to take on rivals like Toyota Motor and EV giants.

Japanese auto giants Honda and Nissan may soon join hands in a joint effort to grow in terms of sales as well as compete against rivals like Toyota Motor and Tesla, BYD in the electric vehicle segment. According to media reports, both the carmakers are involved in preliminary talks on a possible merger in the coming days. Nissan Motor is currently struggling to keep costs down through layoffs. The new merger will mean that Nissan will cut ties with French auto giant Renault.

Honda and Nissan are the largest carmakers in Japan in terms of volume and are followed by Toyota Motor. All three also operate in global markets including India. Toyota is one of the top five car manufacturers in India with popular models like Fortuner, Innova HighCross, Urban Cruiser Highrider. Honda and Nissan Motor are placed at the bottom with very low share in India. Honda sells models like City, Amaze and Elevate while Nissan has two models on sale – Magnite and X-Trail SUVs.

Also Read: Considering 2024 Honda Amaze? This is why the VX variant could be your best choice

The seeds of speculation of a Honda-Nissan merger were laid in March this year when both the Japanese carmakers agreed to explore a strategic partnership in the electric vehicle segment. The tie-up aims to take on not only big carmakers like Toyota, but also some EV giants like Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle makers like BYD.

Honda-Nissan merger: How carmakers reacted

Honda and Nissan have not denied the media reports outright. A Honda spokesperson responded to the reports, saying, “We are discussing the possibilities of future collaboration between Honda and Nissan in various fields and those possibilities include the latest reports, but nothing has been decided “

A Nissan spokesperson issued the following statement to HT Auto. “The content of the report that Honda, Nissan and MMC are considering a business integration is not based on our company's announcement. As announced in March and August this year, Nissan, Honda and MMC are considering future cooperation. “We are considering various possibilities, including the content of the report, but no decision has been taken; if there is an update, we will inform all stakeholders at the appropriate time.”

Also see: Honda Amaze launched as most affordable car in India with ADAS

Nissan Motor also issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, “The content of the report that Honda, Nissan and MMC are considering a business integration is not based on our company's announcement. As announced in March and August this year, Nissan, Honda and MMC are considering various possibilities for future cooperation, including the content of the report, but no decision has been made. If there is any update, we will inform all stakeholders at the appropriate time.”

Also read: Despite internal turmoil, Nissan will go ahead with India plans, increase workforce

This speculation comes at a time when Nissan Motor is facing a major financial crisis. In November, Nissan announced cuts of 9,000 jobs worldwide. The carmaker had also said it would reduce global production capacity by 20 percent. Its CEO Makoto Uchida even said he was willing to forfeit half his salary to help the carmaker stay afloat.

Upcoming cars in India in 2024, check out the best SUVs in India.

First publication date: 18 Dec 2024, 08:52 am IST

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Rumion CNG MPV has the longest waiting period among all Toyota cars

Rumion CNG MPV has the longest waiting period among all Toyota cars

Planning to drive home in a new Toyota car? Your wait may extend way beyond 2023 and may go up till Diwali next year on certain models. The carmaker has revealed the tentative waiting periods for all its models. Some of the cars, including the likes of newly-launched Rumion and Innova HyCross MPVs, have their waiting period stretching more than 12 months on certain variants. Here is a quick look at the Toyota cars for which your wait could get stretched to about a year or more.

By: HT Auto Desk
| Updated on: 06 Nov 2023, 13:19 PM

Toyota Rumion and Innova HyCross are two models among its cars which currently comes with a waiting period of more than a year depending on variants.

Toyota Rumion CNG

The CNG version of Toyota’s latest MPV has more demand than its standard version. The Maruti Ertiga-rival, launched in August this year at a starting price of 10.29 lakh (ex-showroom), is sold in petrol and CNG variants. The waiting period on the Rumion CNG could go up to 18 months, or one and a half years, depending on where the buyer has booked it. Due to high demand, Toyota had to temporarily halt bookings for the Rumion E-CNG variant in September. Rumion draws power from the 1.5-litre K-Series petrol engine paired with manual and automatic transmission options.

The CNG version of Toyota’s compact SUV Urban Cruiser HyRyder has the second longest waiting period among models the Japanese carmaker offers in India. According to the carmaker, one may have to wait up to 16 months to drive home the E-CNG HyRyder SUV. In January this year, Toyota introduced the CNG avatar of the HyRyder SUV at a staring price of 13.23 lakh (ex-showroom). The SUV, rival to Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Hyundai Creta among others, is powered by a 1.5-litre K-Series engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The CNG variant claims to offer 26.6 km/kg fuel efficiency.

Toyota Innova HyCross hybrid

The strong hybrid version of the Innova HyCross has its waiting period stretching up to 15 months. The MPV, Toyota’s best-selling model in India, is offered in both petrol as well as strong hybrid versions. Toyota had launched the Innova HyCross in India in December last year with the strong hybrid variants priced from 24.01 lakh (ex-showroom). It rivals with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Invicto, which is essentially based on the HyCross model. The self-charging hybrid powertrain is mated to a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 181 bhp and promises fuel economy of 23.24 kmpl.

Watch: Toyota Innova HyCross First Drive Impressions

Toyota Vellfire

Vellfire, the most expensive model from the Japanese auto giant in India, also has a long waiting period. According to Toyota, one may have to wait for around 15 months to get a new Vellfire delivered, depending on the location of purchase.

First Published Date: 06 Nov 2023, 13:19 PM IST


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Toyota plans to boost production in India, plans third facility to meet demands

Toyota plans to boost production in India, plans third facility to meet demands

Toyota Motor plans to increase its production capacity in India amid rising demands and long waiting period for its vehicles. The Japanese auto giant has started to enhance manufacturing capacity with two plants located at Bidadi, Karnataka, running at full capacity. Toyota made the announcement during the ongoing Japan Auto Show in Tokyo, saying that demands for its cars, especially in the high-end category, has seen a jump post Covid pandemic in India.

By: HT Auto Desk
| Updated on: 26 Oct 2023, 14:35 PM

Workers make checks at a trim inspection line on the Innova Crysta compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) production line at the Toyota Kirloskar Motor plant in Bidadi, Karnataka. (Bloomberg)

Yoichi Miyazaki, Executive Vice President and Board Member at Toyota Motor Corporation, said the company is reaching full plant capacity utilisation in India. Toyota, which operates jointly with Bengaluru-based Kirloskar Group in India, uses two of its facilities in Karnataka. The two plants have an overall production capacity of 3.42 lakh units per year.

Miyazaki said, “We have started a discussion (on the matter). After Covid, the market recovery is very strong (in India) in comparison to other countries so we believe demand itself is very strong in India.” Toyota is also planning a third facility in India to address rising demands and long waiting periods on its models. Miyazaki said demands for bigger cars in India is seen as a good sign by the Japanese auto giant. “With the strength of higher segments going up in the Indian market, it tells us it is now Toyota’s time,” he said.

Watch: Toyota Innova HyCross First Drive Impressions

Toyota sells Fortuner and Fortuner Legender SUVs, Innova Crysta, Innova HyCross and Rumion MPVs, Urban Cruiser HyRyder SUV, Camry Hybrid sedan, Hilux pickup truck and Glanza hatchback in India. All eight models are manufactured at its facility in Karnataka. Part of the facility is also utilised to manufacture vehicles jointly developed with its India partner Maruti Suzuki, like Grand Vitara SUV.

Toyota had recently started a third shift at its Bidadi facility to increase output capacity by nearly 30 per cent. It also invested more than 90 crore to upgrade infrastructure and employed 1,500 additional workers to help bring down waiting period for its cars. Toyota has seen its sales jump by 35 per cent between April and September this year with nearly 1.24 lakh vehicles sold.

First Published Date: 26 Oct 2023, 14:35 PM IST


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Toyota banks on sale of rebadged Maruti models to hit best year ever in India

Toyota banks on sale of rebadged Maruti models to hit best year ever in India

Toyota Motor expects its sales in India to will continue to soar with rebadged Maruti Suzuki models. The Japanese auto giant, which is in a partnership with the Indo-Japanese carmaker, hopes 2023 to be the best year for Toyota in India since its debut here. Toyota currently sells at least two rebadged Maruti Suzuki models in the country. It has rebadged Maruti Baleno hatchback as Glanza and Ertiga MPV as Rumion. Around 40 per cent of Toyota’s sales in the first eight months this year has come from rebadged Maruti cars.

By: HT Auto Desk
| Updated on: 16 Sep 2023, 15:37 PM

Toyota Glanza (top), the rebadged Maruti Suzuki version of the Baleno hatchback (bottom) is one of the highest selling cars from the Japanese auto giant in India.

Speaking to news agency Reuters, Atul Sood, Vice President of Sales at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said that Maruti’s portfolio of affordable cars continue to attract buyers, helping to boost its sales. In 2022, Toyota sold more than 1.60 lakh cars in India. In comparison, the Japanese auto giant has already sold nearly 1.50 lakh vehicles till August and is on track to break its all-time annual sales record in the country this year. “We are confident of closing this calendar year with our best ever performance and setting a new benchmark. The HyRyder has given us a new set of customers who are majorly upgrading. The majority of the demand is coming from a younger profile,” Sood said.

Toyota also plans to expand its footprint across India. Sood said the Japanese carmaker will now focus on the smaller cities in various parts to reach out to more customers. Currently, Toyota has over 600 dealerships located all over the country.

Among the cars it currently sells, Toyota Glanza and Urban Cruiser HyRyder SUV are among the best-selling models from the carmaker in India. While Glanza is a rebadged Maruti car, the SUV was jointly developed with Maruti Suzuki, which the latter sells as Grand Vitara. Toyota Glanza comes at a starting price of 6.81 lakh and goes up to 10 lakh (ex-showroom). The Urban Cruiser HyRyder SUV price starts from 10.73 lakh and goes up to 19.74 lakh (ex-showroom).

Toyota recently launched the Rumion MPV, which is also a rebadged Maruti model called Ertiga. The three-row MPV was launched at 10.29 lakh (ex-showroom). The price of the Toyota MPV goes up to 13.68 lakh (ex-showroom) for the top-end variant. It is also offered with CNG technology.

Watch: Toyota Innova HyCross: First Drive Impressions

Besides these three, Toyota also sells Innova HyCross and Innova Crysta MPVs in India. The Innova HyCross, offered with strong hybrid tech like the HyRyder SUV, comes at a starting price of 19.67 lakh and goes up to 30.26 lakh (ex-showroom). Maruti Suzuki has launched the rebadged version of the HyCross as Invicto earlier this year. The Innova Crysta and HyCross remain Toyota’s best-selling models. The Fortuner SUV is the only other SUV other than HyRyder in Toyota’s fleet. The large SUV is priced between 33 lakh and 50.74 lakh (ex-showroom). The Hilux pickup truck, launched at 30.40 lakh, makes up Toyota’s lineup in India.

First Published Date: 16 Sep 2023, 15:37 PM IST


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In pics: Toyota Innova HyCross flex-fuel MPV runs fully on ethanol

In pics: Toyota Innova HyCross flex-fuel MPV runs fully on ethanol

The flex-fuel Toyota Innova HyCross MPV is compatible with BS 6 Stage II norms.

By: HT Auto Desk
| Updated on: 29 Aug 2023, 17:47 PM

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Toyota Motor has introduced the world’s first car that can run fully on alternative fuel – ethanol and is equipped with a flex-fuel engine. The model is based on the Innova HyCross MPV and was officially launched at an event presided over by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

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The electrified Innova HyCross flex-fuel is prototype in nature and is compatible with the latest emission norms of Bharat Stage 6 II. The electrified flex-fuel Innova HyCross will also be able to generate electric power on its own and able to run on EV mode as well as it gets a lithium-ion battery pack.

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Toyota Innova HyCross flex-fuel MPV will run entirely on ethanol, a fuel derived from plants. The ethanol is graded E100, signifying that the car run fully on the alternative fuel. However, it is not yet known if and when the production version of the electrified flex-fuel model will hit the Indian roads.

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For the flex-fuel version of the Innova HyCross, the company had to tune the engine so that it could run on E100 grade ethanol. The fuel tank and fuel pipe have also been modified. The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine unit, also used in the standard Innova HyCross, is compatible with E85 fuel. The spark plugs and piston rings of the MPV have been changed too.

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Toyota has also added a cold-start system to the vehicle which allows it to power up in cold conditions as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius. The standard Innova HyCross hybrid MPV can generate 181 bhp of power and offer fuel economy of 23.24 kmpl. Toyota says the flex-fuel model can offer 30 to 50 per cent more efficiency.

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India’s push for biofuel or alternative cleaner fuel gained momentum last year when the Centre rolled out petrol mixed with ethanol. India aims to achieve 20 per cent ethanol mixed in petrol by 2025.

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Gadkari has been advocating use of alternative fuel every now and then to reduce costly import of crude oil, which is processed to produce conventional fuels like petrol and diesel. The introduction of alternative fuel also aims to reduce pollution as well as India’s carbon footprint.

First Published Date: 29 Aug 2023, 17:47 PM IST


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