Toyota Passo heading to China?
Toyota Passo
Toyota’s sub 1.6L and affordable car selection is not as wide and as varied as you might think, and due to Toyota missing out on a major slice of the market earlier this year when the market was largely driven by sub 1.6L displacement vehicles, Toyota are planning a large assault on the small car market, and plan to make Toyota’s more affordable.
Toyota is apaprently planning to put the Toyota Passo into production in China, and (albeit a single) spy picture shows the car out testing in China. In overseas markets the Passo is often known as the Daihatsu Sirion and comes in AWD and FWD configuration, it is unclear what the Chinese market will receive, although this is likely to be Toyota’s new entry level vehicle and will be in the 50,000rmb to 70,000rmb segment.
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“this is likely to be Toyota’s new entry level vehicle”
What’s the current entry level car?
Toyota Vios, Corolla, or Yaris.
Either way, Toyota missed a big part of the market this year and last by concentrating on SUV and sedans.
They are planning a large scale assault on the small car market, we might see the Toyota Matrix in China as well.
I think Toyota is missing out BIG TIME by not bringing the Scion line here to China………..although Great Wall is kind of doing it for them!!
Think about it……..what if we could have the REAL Scion xB (the 2nd generation – the 1st generation model is what the Coolbear copied) – or even better yet, the iQ!! If the iQ was manufactured locally (within China), I’ll bet that it could EASILY fit within the 50-70,000rmb price range – and it could sell right alongside the Passo. The iQ could be targeted more to the younger generation (sporty, cool, etc.) while the Passo could be marketed more as a affordable “family” car. The iQ would be SERIOUS competition for the Suzuki Alto and Swift, along with the upcoming Nissan March. Toyota ALSO has a electric version of it as well (the FT-EV), and there are lots of aftermarket kits available for the street racer crowd. Come on Toyota – if you’re going to get serious in China in the small car segment, this give us the best you’ve got……..and that means bringing the iQ here!!
Sorry all JV will not succeed in this low end market segment as the profit is so thin that there is not much left to feed two mouths. Domestic models from Chery, Geely, BYD, Great Wall… are still in upperhand, just look at current sales volume of Suzuki models you can predict the result of this Toyota move. Yaris & Vios are just disasters.
Vios and Yaris are priced way above that the mass can afford. If iQ is priced in similar way, I have no faith in it. For 50K-70K rmb you can buy a Fulwin 2 or A3. Like Smart for 2, Mini… there is a small market for them but they are not for the mass.
hk, if you live in mainland China then you should know better. Some people (actually many people) will still prefer to buy a foreign brand if they can……..because of the “distinction” of it AND because they still trust foreign cars more. Now, a few years ago, if you only had 50-70,000 rmb then you had VERY little foreign choices (the Spark and the Fukang, that was it) – but now look at the market. Suzuki has the new Alto and the 1.3 Swift, Chevy will have the AWESOME new Spark next year, Nissan will introduce the March and now Toyota will have the Passo – and don’t forget that the Fukang is still being sold, and Peugeot also has the 206 too. Sure, there are LOTS of good chinese cars for that same price – but there are people that are just convinced that a foreign car is the better value, and better RESALE value as well……..and there probably is some truth to that regarding resale value. While I DO believe that chinese cars are MUCH MUCH better than they used to be, I am still not convinced of their DURABILITY yet – and only time will provide the answer.
Old cars sell well because the spare parts chain is widespread and they are tried and tested cars, if you’re going to be putting several years worth of salary into a car, you need to know its rock solid.
joninchina, I appreciate your deep understanding of most Chinese in choosing their cars and I agree most of it. However I have to clarify a few points.
1)For the previlaged few (SOE business man, government/military official, well connected individual…) money is not the problem, they will buy the best in this world to show their status in the society. That explain why those Rolls, Bently, Ferrari… are enjoying great success in China.
2)For the newly developed “Middle Class” (small business owner, foreign company employee, low rank official…) money is sufficient, they can afford to pay the extra to buy foreign brands for the peace of mind. This is the class you are talking about, Vios & Yaris are not selling well, so do Swift, Alto, Passo, March… In China this middle class will not buy small cars, the bigger the better. That explains why Camry, Accord… are best selling. Yet I have to admit that sometimes they have to settle for less like Corolla, Civic… or even Korean cars.
3)This the mass of ordinary Chinese people, money is the hard earn cash they got. Value for your money is crucial, they can only afford domestic brands no matter how worst they are. That explains why QQ outsold Spark and BYD F0 outsold QQ. Domestic brands now have close to 50% market share and growing fast. Yes most Chinese are not nationalists, they will switch to foreign brands if they can afford. When domestic mades are as good as Koreans & Japanese, they will surely support their fellow countrymen.
To sum up, your suggestion of iQ, Scion, Passo… to get the entry market segment will get similar result as Yaris & Vios.