Toyota Etois receives 12,000 pre-sales orders in India

Toyota Motors India said on Wednesday that it has received 12,000 orders for its Etios sedan, even as the production of the low-priced car is yet to begin.

We have already received some 12,000 orders for the first two weeks, even before production begins later this month, another Toyota official said, adding that deliveries are expected to start early next year.

The carmaker is tapping into emerging markets and is targeting annual sales of 70,000 vehicles. The platform of the low-cost model was developed to target growing middle income families in India and other booming markets.

The 1.5-litre sedan, priced from 496,000 rupees (10,945 dollars), is Toyota's first low-priced small passenger model put on the Indian market. It is manufactured a plant in Bangalore that employs over 2,000 workers.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the joint venture between the Japanese automaker and India's Kirloskar group, already sells the premium utility vehicle Innova and luxury sedan Corolla Altis in the Indian market.

The launch of the Etios sedan on Wednesday, and a hatchback version starting April 2011 will be the Japanese automaker's lowest-priced products in the Indian auto market.