'Asia car' hits Thailand's showrooms
'Asia car' hits Thailand's showrooms
By Russell Williamson
THAILAND will become the first market to begin selling
Toyota's "Asia car" when the Soluna goes on sale there next week.
The Soluna has been developed by Toyota Motor Corp in Japan
under the "affordable family car" project and aims to meet the
needs of consumers in the developing nations of Southeast Asia.
The car is expected to go into production in Indonesia about
the middle of next year and will give Toyota-Astra a starter in
the cheap sedan market competing against Honda's City, PT Timor's
Timor car, Suzuki's Baleno, Daewoo's Nexia and Bimantara's Cakra.
Although pricing for the small four-door sedan has yet to be
announced, it is expected to be priced about US$14,500 in
Thailand, making it cheaper than the successful Honda City which
costs about $15,300.
While the Soluna is based on the platform of the Toyota
Tercel, most of its components, mechanical underpinnings and
interior features have been adapted specifically for its target
market.
Power comes from a 1500cc four-cylinder 16-valve fuel-injected
engine which develops a maximum power of 70kW at 5600rpm and peak
torque of 123Nm at 4800rpm.
The power and torque figures almost mirror those of Honda's
output from its 1300cc engine in the City while offering 10kW
more power but similar torque when compared to the Timor car's
1500cc carburetor engine.
The Timor car however, provides its maximum torque at a much
more usable 2500rpm.
Drive to the front wheels is through either a five-speed
manual gearbox or three-speed automatic transmission.
In terms of size, the Soluna is shorter overall than both the
Timor car and City at 4175mm, but substantially wider than the
City and marginally narrower than the Timor car at 1660mm.
All body panels have been treated extensively for
anticorrosion while high quality seals improve water resistance.
Interior space is sufficient to comfortably seat five adults
while the trunk space of 405 liters is larger than both City and
the Timor car.
The Soluna is being sold in two trim levels in Thailand with
equipment including air conditioning and power windows.
Toyota Motor Thailand plans to sell 40,000 Solunas this year
rising to about 60,000 a year by 2000.
Although the car was developed in Japan, it will be produced
exclusively overseas and in Thailand will be launched with 70
percent local content using nearly 700 locally made parts.
When the car goes on sale in Indonesia, local content is also
expected to be high with Toyota hoping to use ASEAN cooperation
programs like the AICO scheme to help lift local content in the
vehicle.