Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus to enter Indian market in 2017

New Delhi: Japanese carmaker Toyota has decided to finally bring the Lexus, luxury car brand, into India, in 2017. Though the Toyota has been trying to bring Lexus into India since 2011, they couldn’t, as the Government of India levied 100% customs duties on the import of Completely Built Units (CBUs) in the Union Budget of 2013-14. This would have left the Toyota or the Lexus in a huge price disadvantage compared to cars assembled in India by the German manufacturers. So, the Japanese brand couldn’t make it to the Indian terrains last time around. However, now things look promising for a 2017 launch, as the Toyota spots the hybrid route as a possible way of introducing the Lexus brand into India. The market is also ripe for Hybrid vehicles in India, plus the lower customs duties even on the import of hybrid vehicles as Completely Built Units (CBUs). Furthermore, FAME India scheme, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) & Electric Vehicles in India, also offers concession of Rs. 1.38 lakh on all the above four-meter hybrid cars. So, both the lower import duties and the FAME India concession are expected to keep the prices on a par with the Toyota’s German counterparts. Toyota is likely to go in for the launch of their most premium vehicles first before going onto launch the other lower priced models. The Lexus is not also likely to test the market with the lower priced models in their portfolio, before going for the higher priced ones. So, The LX 450d SUV will likely be the first to launch in India, beside the ES 300h sedan, as both have been imported into India for testing purposes. The complete range of all their models is also expected to feature in their Indian portfolio in due course of time. Source: vicky.in