Japanese carmaker Toyota plans to launch a sporty, more powerful version of its Etios Liva hatchback with some major makeovers next month in a bid to boost its premium appeal and revive sales in India.

The new Liva variant will be powered by a 1,500cc petrol engine and will sport re-tuned suspension, improved brakes and wider wheels to cope with the additional power, a person closely involved with the project said. The existing petrol variant of the car has a 1,200cc engine.

Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director and COO (marketing and commercial) at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the Japanese carmaker's Indian joint venture, refused to comment on the matter. "There are several product plans going on in the company and I would not like to share them at this moment," he said.

The new Liva model will also use better quality plastic to give a premium feel to the dashboard, switchgear and door panels and use a new colour scheme to allay criticism that the Etios platform compromised on quality from the Toyota stable.

"The Etios sedan and Liva hatchback lack the quality benchmarks Toyota is known for globally," an industry analyst said. "As expected the new vehicle would have the some recipes of success that Toyota's Indian subsidiary desperately needs to make a dent in hatchback, India's largest car segment," the person added.