Japan crisis: Honda, Toyota delay India launch

Honda Brio

The much talked about hatchback by Honda was scheduled to be previewed on March 17, but the company postponed the event in the light of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that caused massive damage to life and property in Japan.

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The car is scheduled to hit Indian roads later this year with a price tag of less than Rs 500,000.

The Brio will be an affordable hatchback built on a new 2CV concept equipped with features like a chrome stripe grill, bold looks, upward sweeping body lines and a forward inclined stance giving it a futuristic feel.

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The car will be powered by a 1.2-litre Honda Jazz engine followed by a 1-litre motor in the future.

Prominent headlamp pods set in black surrounds with a bit of chrome dominate the front while the all glass rear and low tail lights with a smoked-out effect make for an attractive rear.

The car is 3.6 meters in length and promises to be good to drive and easy to handle.

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The Brio doesn't have a central console and the instrument panel, music system and all rest has been aligned straight.

The concept model had a double DIN music system, a driver airbag and fixed head restraints for front seats.

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Toyota Etios Liva

Toyota too postponed the official inauguration of its second Indian manufacturing facility at Bangalore after last week's disaster.

And earlier in the month there had been media reports of Toyota rescheduling the launch of Liva from April to June.

The postponement comes due to the long waiting period for the Toyota Etios saloon launched last year.

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The Etios saloon is facing a waiting period of about six to eight months. So, it is likely that the hatchback would be brought into the market only once the backlog for the sedan is cleared.

The Etios Liva will be powered by a 1.2 litre engine capable of generating 80bhp.

It shares its platform with Etios saloon and thus will be one of the most spacious hatches in the market.

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It is pitted straight against the likes of Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Fiat Punto, Nissan Micra, Maruti Swift et al.

Keeping in mind the popularity of diesel engines Toyota plans is likely to fit the Etios saloon and Liva with a 1.4 diesel unit.

This will be the same as the powermill that does duty in Corolla diesel sans the variable geometry turbo (VGT).

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