TOYOTA: TOMOAKI NISITANI
Toyota Motor representative in Russia
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The implementation of the new project will allow Toyota to strengthen its competitive position. According to the president of Toyota Motor Company, Mr. Fujio Shaw, in this project we managed to unify parts by 92% with Peugeot and Citroen. As a result, we saved on the development of the car, we won due to the large volumes of production, and to top it off, we got access to the technologies of the European PSA concern.
Our strategy in the Russian market is entirely dependent on demand. It seems to me that there are not many who are ready to buy this car in Russia. They prefer large sizes here, so we have no plans to represent “Aigo” (see p. 10) in Russia. But the time when in Russia there will be a demand for compact cars of the Aigo type, in my opinion, will come very soon. As soon as private individuals start bringing these cars from abroad, it can be considered that a signal has appeared for the official introduction of Aigo on the Russian market. If Toyota management decides to organize its production in Russia, our Czech experience will be used.
“PEUGEOT”: DAVID RIO
Director of Sales
in Central and Eastern Europe, in the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East
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In the near future the car will not be sold in Russia. It is hard to say whether this will happen at all. Prior to sales, it is necessary to consider the suitability of a given car for the market, its possible sales volumes, issues of price and profitability. In other words, find out how much it fits into the lineup offered on the market. Moreover, we need to collectively consider the markets of other countries and determine which of them is the most popular model. Today in Russia we are selling the 206th model in the “B” segment: it has great success and a good image. We would like to maintain the achieved sales volumes.
In general, in order to feel interest in a certain type of car, you need to have quite segmented markets when it is possible to choose a car in accordance with your needs. It is no coincidence that in Western European families there are usually several cars.
In Russia, a different approach dominates - as a rule, they buy one car for all occasions. According to this principle, this year we will focus on the Peugeot 407.
The markets between Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen were not divided. All three brands will be present in the same European markets.
CITROEN: DONATO KOKO
chief designer of compact cars "Citroen"
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The Citroen-C1, Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aigo models are essentially the same car manufactured by three companies. How were the roles of their designers distributed in the design of the machine?
- It was very difficult. No one wanted to lose the initiative, and each decision was given after many discussions with great difficulty. Despite the similarities between the cars, the only common design element for them was the seats.
Each group of designers worked, offering stylistics and solutions characteristic of their brand, as a result, with equal dimensions, cars that were outwardly unlike each other were obtained. Peugeot and Citroen have, of course, more similarities. So, in the four-door version, the rear doors are wider and partially cover the rear wheel arches. At Aigo, the rear doors more habitually end in front of the wheel arches. The most characteristic differences relate to the design of the front of the car. And here no one doubts their belonging to their own family.
