Toyota building new SUV for India to challenge Mahindra XUV700

The Japanese automotive giant, Toyota Motor Corporation, has been reported to be working on a brand new SUV for the Indian market. The company recently revealed that it is planning to increase its production capacity with a third plant in India. So, this new SUV, which has been reported to be a “mini” iteration of the popular Land Cruiser model, will be an anchor product for this new plant. Most likely, this new SUV will be taking on the Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, and Hyundai Alcazar in India.

New Toyota SUV: XUV700 rival

This new C-segment SUV, according to Reuters, will be slotted between the current mid-size SUV, Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and the Innova Hycross hybrid MPV. It has been reported that the codename for this new SUV, which is under development, is 340D. Most likely, we won’t see this “mini” Land Cruiser SUV until early 2026. Also, it has been stated that the company has yet to make a final decision on the commencement of production of this particular SUV.

Also read: 10 DC Design cars & how they look in the REAL world: Maruti Swift to Mahindra XUV500

As per the reports, with this brand-new model, Toyota is not expecting a whole lot of sales. It has been reported that the company is working with suppliers to produce around 60,000 of these SUVs at its third plant in India. Additionally, if the company does decide to finally launch this product in India, it will most likely be importing parts from other international markets to the new plant in India for assembly. It is to be noted that the pictures used for this article are of a Toyota Harrier (an SUV that it sells in Singapore and other international markets) and they have been used just for graphical representation purposes.

Toyota India’s third plant

According to reports, as mentioned above, Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to set up a third plant in India. The decision for this has been taken as the company, with its partnership with Maruti Suzuki India Limited, has been witnessing a huge surge in demand for new vehicles. Both the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and New Glanza, along with the Innova Hycross hybrid, are selling like hot cakes in India.

The company currently, with its two manufacturing plants in India, has a total capacity of around 4,00,000 units. Now, with the addition of this new third plant, the company aims to increase this capacity by around 1,20,000. Additionally, it has also been reported that it could also increase this new plant’s production capacity to 2,00,000 units. Sources have stated that Toyota is also aiming to increase its yearly production figure to 5,00,000 units before the end of this decade.

These reports of the Japanese automaker planning to set up a third plant have been raised as the company is planning to double down on its efforts in the Indian market. The company, as per metrics, is seeing slower growth in European and North American markets. This new plant has been reported to be built on the same premises in Bidadi, Karnataka, where it currently already has two plants.

Also read: Upcoming 2022 Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza rendered