The number of Toyota Vitz sold in Mauritius is a lot, you just have to check around. So is the latest Corolla NZE 140 aka Axio. A lot of taxi drivers have now gained the knowledge that Axio is the new Japanese Corolla. While the model sold by Toyota Mauritius is the Malaysian built Altis E150 – which only recently got 6-speed and a dual-vvti engine…

That said, it’s not Toyota that is at fault, it’s their Mauritian dealership. They do not sell appropriate models, are not customer-focused, and have bad marketing campaigns! If only, I could take the reins of that company… or open a competing Toyota dealership… I could bring Daihatsu to Mauritius (and I thought about Lexus years ago!)

I still remember asking a salesperson from there about the price for the E140 Axio and the answer was that they have the E120 Corolla (so old…)…

Read more about previous articles, where I mention Toyota models that would sell good in Mauritius

I would still recommend Toyota Corolla Axio, Vitz, Auris, Rush, Mark X and Daihatsu Move, Copen and Sirion (Passo) –  both new and second hand. People who can’t buy the new Prius 3 would buy second hand Prius 2.

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Here are 5 Reasons why Mauritians should buy diesel cars instead of petrol:

1. For the same capacity, modern common-rail diesel engines (as sold in Europe) are about 20% more economical than petrol engines. Gone are the myths about expensive maintenance of diesels.
2. Diesel engines are almost always sold with a turbo charger. That means that they’re usually as powerful or more powerful than petrol engines.
3. Diesel engines give more torque at low range, meaning you don’t have to press hard on your pedal to say, overtake a vehicle. You can change gears earlier as well.
4. Europeans buy 50% of cars as diesels, not just because of economy, but also because of lower CO2 emissions. Meaning Maurice Ile Durable…
5. German luxury manufacturers prefer to promote diesels instead of hybrid-petrols. Just check out the number of benchmarks e.g. BMW 118d Efficient Dynamics winning over Prius, VW Jettat TDI making as much economy as the Prius (except in traffic jams).

There is one big problem however, Japanese don’t buy diesel cars. So you won’t find a second-hand car from Japan with a diesel engine! Not since mid 2000. Last one I know is the 2001 Corolla CE120 (many people use the misnomer NZE to refer to this model, when it should be E120: NZ is the engine). Taxes might be the reason? Like in Dubai diesel is taxed making it twice the price as petrol.

We do see diesel BMW 320d, 520d, Peugeot 307 HDi on our roads… and many 1990′s Toyota Corolla and Corona. Once duty becomes based on CO2 emission, I hope, we’ll start seeing more turbo diesel cars sold here.

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There has been a clear lack of 1. correct models and options for Mauritius; 2. inaccurate and incomplete marketing campaigns. Let’s take them one by one. Anyone who wants to critic me is open to do so.

Let’s consider the E150 Corolla that they’ve been bringing for about 2 years only as a 4-speed automatic 1.5L. Now come on, everyone knows that Mauritians who buy Japanese prefer manual gearbox. Simply offering only that (in ads) was a deterrant to many Toyota-lovers. Ah, it’s only now, after so many months that they’ve started to offer the 1.6L 5-speed manual… Late I’d say, when the market has been taken by Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer (Iframac claims the Lancer to be no 1 in sales for mid-size vehicles for 2007 and 2008 although the Lancer is more a compact sedan rather than a mid-size -MotorMag, June 2009).
The Avensis is still the old model too, and the Camry has an inefficient engine, and is almost as big as a Premio/Allion: it won’t sell! 2.4L means huge taxes.

The local car market believes strongly in Japanese cars and the suitability of their models.

1. The Corolla Axio E140 is more suited to our market, with a short length but same interior space, and as wide as previous generations. Bring in the 5-sp manual and the CVT automatic (yeah, the economical one, not the retard 4-speed step-auto).

2. Bring in the CVT version of the Yaris as well. Small car buyers are women who want comfort rather than control. That would be smooth and economical while being an automatic.

3. The Allion/Premio 1.5L/1.8L sister cars are going to sell if they bring it. Allion with aero kit would definitely appeal the youth who are not taking the dated Avensis. Ah, that’s another model that should see the new version sell, which is already selling in Europe. The 1.6L Valvematic engine will do justice. Bring in the diesel version and sell for economy as well.

4. No to Camry. The Mark X would do a better job at higher end. With a 2.5L V6 doing 210hp (vs 170 something for the Camry) while being more economical and better looking. That would be the answer to the Cefiro/Teana. Mark X is larger than the Camry and it’s built on the solid Crown Royal sedan platform. After all, Mauritian car buyers are more Japanese than American…

5. Auris is the hatchback version of the Corolla E150. That definitely needs to be here to face the increasing sale of the Tiida (given similar dimensions). Same gearboxes as the Corolla and sell it as the Corolla Auris.

6. Where are the smaller cars? Peugeot is already selling the 107 with a Yaris engine (which is similar to the Toyota Aygo), so bring that here! Small cars sell good in Mauritius.

Now about the campaign. Imagine how disgusted I was when I barely saw any USP in the Camry ad. Where’s the USP’s? It’s the best selling car in USA for over
10 years, has very comfortable interior and boot etc… Same for the Corolla, after all, it’s the best selling car in the world and also the most reliable according to some… I would do a better job at the press ads and billboards…

And here I claim that if I were to choose the models to sell in Mauritius and lead their marketing campaigns, there would be a clear rise in their market share within months of making the changes!

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