Whoa! Toyota just fired off a serious shot across the bow of it’s competitors everywhere when they announced they intend to produce a car that will sell for less than five thousand dollars.
Five thousand dollars.
That’s not the cost of a car, that’s the down payment on a car. Jeez, can you even buy a motorcycle for that these days?
At any rate, Toyota sees a potential market, and it’s going after it. Much like India’s Tata car company and Renault’s Dacia, Toyota feels there is going to be a place for cars that go for what some people spend on a yearly vacation. And I could agree with them. A 5K car could be a real hit with high school and college students, dads that need a work car, those sorts of buyers.
Unfortunately, if their plan comes to fruition, Toyota won’t be selling their 5K car in America, since they’re aiming for the Indian and Brazilian markets – much like the Tata Nano, which is also intended for the Indian market. The Brazilian market is an interesting choice as well. Given the seeming lack of a middle class in that country, it might be a smart move. Then again, Brazilians might just end up looking at it as a cheap car to go racing with (Brazilians are all lead foots, near as I can tell).
Look for Toyota’s new wonder-car-on-the-cheap to be appearing around 2015 after production gets ramped up at their plant in Bangalore India.
Source: AutoBlog
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