Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) recently launched the new Camry in a 2.5 litre AT variant. During the press conference, Mr Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director at TKM, denied all rumors of a 2.5 litre engine for the India-spec Fortuner. Currently, this SUV is powered by a larger 3 litre diesel engine.
“Firstly, Innova and Fortuner already share the 2.5 litre diesel engine in certain markets. We looked at that option (for India) and we concluded that it is not a better option not only in terms of product manufacturing convenience but also looking at the customer demand,” said Mr Singh. With a 2.5 litre engine, the Toyota Fortuner is already being sold in Thailand, and it is soon to be made available in Malaysia.
The entry of a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry would be dependent on a possible amendment in the 2012-13 Government budget. During the budget, the Central Government had proposed the grant of Rs 6000 crores, to help boost the production of electric and hybrid vehicles in India.
Hybrid vehicles are those that are powered by both gasoline as well as electric motors. These cars have the capability of switching from one motor to the other, resulting in efficient utilisation of energy. When braking, hybrid cars convert kinetic energy into electric energy, which gets stored in the battery.
Electric vehicles were offered with a price incentive of Rs 1 lac in 2011, which lasted up to March 2012. Duty on importing conversion kits was also decreased from 10% to 5%, and there was also a time when custom duty was non-existent.
It will be a long time before the demand for hybrid cars takes off in India. A major reason for this is the high cost of such vehicles. At present, the electric vehicles available in India are: the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Mahindra Reva-i. The Prius is priced around Rs 27 lacs, and the Civic at about 21 lacs. To push sales, Honda had slashed the Civic prices by almost 50 % in 2008.This generated huge demand for the Civic. Only the Reva-i is priced between Rs 3.5 lacs to Rs 4.3 lacs, but Indians have not displayed much confidence in this small car. Going by the fate of hybrids so far, it is understandable why
Toyota may not wish to launch a hybrid version in India.
