Toyota Innova Crysta

Mr. N. Raja, Director & Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, accepts the award for the Innova Crysta.

Despite a steep increase in prices over the last model, the demand for the new Innova Crysta is very high – was that expected?

What we looked at initially, and what the customer also appreciates, is the value-for money quotient of the product. If you look at the increase in prices, that’s majorly because of two factors. First, it’s an all-new model with a new design, and, secondly, there are a lot of new features – including an automatic gearbox. An automatic transmission alone adds up to `50,00070,000. So, if you do an apples-to-apples comparison, the hike in prices is there for a reason. And it got acceptance largely because the customer expectations were met, since there’s long been demand for a new Innova that looks and feels premium on the inside and out. So, the design has a bit of an SUV stance, which really appeals to the Indian customers – while the interior design and features are also appreciated equally.

Do you think this spike in demand is because the model is new, or do you believe you can sustain these kinds of volumes going through next year?