Can the fact that the Urban Cruiser EV is a Suzuki help or hurt its reputation?
The Toyota Urban Cruiser EV is built on Suzuki's e-Vitara platform and will be manufactured at Suzuki's Gujarat plant. The collaboration between Toyota and Suzuki has raised questions about how people perceive the brands and what quality they expect. Toyota is reliable and built well and in many markets Suzuki is all about affordability and practicality. This partnership, however, has also led to a question; how will consumers view the Urban Cruiser EV - will it be a full-fledged Toyota product with the quality you expect from the brand or will it be something budget friendly that might not measure up to Toyota’s usual quality? The discussion also continues to the extent to which this collaboration may influence the long run images of both brands, especially in markets where their market positions are different.
I think it's a win-win. Suzuki gets to use Toyota's EV tech, and Toyota gets to use Suzuki's small car expertise. It's smart business.
It might hurt Toyota's image, honestly. Toyota is expected to offer more than a rebadged Suzuki. They seem to be cutting corners.
Who cares as long as it’s reliable and well built? Most people are satisfied with Toyota’s name on it.
For markets where Suzuki is strong, but Toyota isn’t, that could be great. You know, best of both worlds.
But I worry about after sales support. Will it be serviced by Toyota or Suzuki? That could be the difference between a good or bad ownership experience.
Perhaps Toyota is learning about cheap EVs before going all in with their own designs. Smart move, if you ask me.
It's going to confuse buyers. Is it a Toyota? A Suzuki? A bit of both? This thing is gonna be a nightmare to market.
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