The First Time World Premier in Thailand All New VIOS…Have it all To export to over 80 countries around the world
Mr. Kyoichi Tanada, President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. / President of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific / Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan together with Mr.Takeshi Matsuda, Chief Engineer of Toyota Motor Corporation and Mr. Wichien Emprasertsuk, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. held the first World Premiere of All New VIOS Press Conference at Toyota booth on March 25, 2013 at the 34th Bangkok International Motor Show, Challenger Hall IMPACT Muang Thongthani.
Vios is one of Toyota’s most significant and best-selling passenger cars. The model represents the success in the collaboration between Thai and Japanese engineers in the research and development. The vehicle resulted from this collaborative effort was the first generation Soluna. It was a compact, fuel efficiency passenger car which offered the greatest value for its price and known as “Soluna”. Toyota made a phenomenon in the Thai auto market by officially introducing the “Soluna” in 1997. Then it received a tremendous success within a short period of time.
Five years later, in 2002, Toyota returned to create another phenomenon in the Thai automobile market with the launch of the second generation “Soluna” which underwent a variety of changes “from head to tail” including an upgrade into a sport sedan. This model was known as Toyota “Soluna VIOS”. The model was able to respond to the diversity of customer needs and became the most popular model among Thai customers. Its popularity even went further as the vehicle was exported to ASEAN region also.
In 2007, Toyota launched the third generation “VIOS” which set a new benchmark in the sub-compact market. The model featured modern exterior, excellent fuel economy, nimble handling, cabin comfort, world-class safety and a large number of functions that customers require. This made the “VIOS” the new sub-compact car that is superior to others in the segment. VIOS becomes an essential model which drives Toyota to the No.1 rank in the sales of passenger car segment, and in the overall automobile market with the total sales of more than 656,811 units*. In addition to our domestic sales, VIOS was the most popular passenger car in ASEAN region with the cumulative sales at 186,761 units*. With this great sales achievement, it is quite evident that VIOS had been well accepted for its global standard quality and became top of the mind of both Thai and oversea customers.
Mr. Kyoichi Tanada, President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. said, “Today, we proudly present our New VIOS 4th Generation World Premier right here in Thailand. Developed under the concept of “Value beyond Belief”, the new VIOS aims to deliver a world class quality vehicle that will exceed customer needs and expectations. It features stylish design, roomy interior, strong performance and excellent fuel economy. According to the aforementioned, we are confident the new VIOS will play a significant role as a powerful stimulus to Toyota’s sales this year and become a market leader in Thai passenger car segment.”
Mr.Takeshi Matsuda, Chief Engineer of Toyota Motor Corporation unveils “Inspired to create a car that offers exceptionally best value and becomes the pride of the owner, Toyota engineering team has developed the new ‘VIOS’. Its concept is ‘Value Beyond Belief’. The car features a whole new ‘luxury-sport’ design for both exterior and interior. The passenger room is more spacious while the luggage trunk is enlarged. Driving performance of the new VIOS is set to surpass its predecessors with improved lower suspension. Moreover, pleasant and exciting driving experience is enhanced by aerodynamic design and better driving stability. Also, it features global standard fuel efficiency. I am certain that the new VIOS is the perfect choice of a compact sedan at this moment. It will answer to the needs and requirements of the customers. They will acknowledge, once they experience the new VIOS, that this is the car that excels its peers in the market. I also believe that the new VIOS will successfully satisfy not only the Thai but also ASEAN customers.
Mr. Wichien Emprasertsuk, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. indicates “The New Toyota VIOS fourth generation, comes with an unrivalled package. As Mr. Matsuda has mentioned, the New VIOS combines the best features of its predecessors with newly improved ones. This can be the perfection that would respond to any lifestyle of customers. Our advertising concept is ‘All New VIOS….Have it All’ and customers can see our new advertisement via the media from today. Furthermore, we offer stunning 360-degree visualization techniques to view the new VIOS on our website, www.toyota.co.th. The New VIOS will be officially launched at Toyota showrooms nationwide together with the test drive road show held during May 10-12. The new VIOS offers a total of 6 grades with 7 exterior colors. The price range starts at 559,000 baht, and I would truly like to say that it is really worthy..’
Mr. Tanada added “As a global production hub, Thailand will also export the new VIOS to over 80 countries around the world, with a target of 45,000 units this year. We hope that this car will contribute to Thailand’s automobile export industry in a way similar to the IMV series. Therefore, the new VIOS will not only represent the pride of Toyota, but also become the pride of the Thai people.
“This year is the beginning of our path for the next 50 years of Toyota. Our initiative includes the project entitled “Mobility of Happiness”, we aims at increasing happiness of Thai society, and I hope that our customers will enjoy this new VIOS as the “Happiness” from us delivered to everyone” Mr. Tanada concluded.
