Toyota Yaris discontinued from India product portfolio. Here's why

It was only a matter of time before Toyota Yaris was discontinued from the company's model range in India. And the time came on Monday with Toyota Kirloskar Motor officially announcing its decision to axe Yaris.

Toyota Yaris has had a short and uneventful run in the Indian car market. First launched here in 2018, the sedan failed to make a mark and paled in the fight against rivals such as Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Honda City and Hyundai Verna. While some pointed to its pricing strategy, others highlighted that it was ordinary at best with its drive credentials. Even in terms of styling and feature list, Yaris could not grab bragging rights in an even otherwise declining C-segment sedan category.

In the statement confirming discontinuation of Yaris, Toyota cited evolving customer needs as one of the factors for the decision. “This move is a part of Toyota’s product strategy to continue to cater to the ever-evolving needs of the customer through enhanced technologies and product offerings," it read. “We would like to continue to serve such customers with other current offerings and preparations are underway to launch new Toyota models in the coming new year 2022."

Toyota, however, underlined that the company would continue to support existing owners of Yaris even as it looks at driving in newer models here.

The sedan segment in the country has seen a steady decline with the C-segment possibly bearing the brunt of the growing preference for SUVs.

At present, Toyota Kirloskar Motor offers the enormously successful Fortuner and Innova Crysta models here while also offering smaller models like Urban Cruiser and Glanza which are essentially re-badged models taken from Maruti Suzuki camp. Camry and luxury MPV Vellfire also form a part of the product list.