Toyota’s All-out Effort To Make Indians Love And Buy Hybrids

Toyota may be taking a little while to take part in the all-electric party in India, but the firm is making efforts toward introducing electrified models here. The carmaker has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to invest up to Rs 4,800 crore in localised parts for hybrids with the aim to increase the adoption of such models in the country.

 

The main reason to invest in localisation is to control costs. Having crucial parts made locally will bring down the price of hybrid vehicles, thereby making it easier for buyers in India to adopt them.

As for which hybrid model is headed to India, Toyota has a compact SUV (codenamed D22), jointly developed with Maruti which will launch its own version of the SUV, in the pipeline. Both SUVs will get their own unique identity as evidenced from recent spy images. They are likely to come with features including a 360-degree camera, a large touchscreen infotainment system, and a head-up display.  

The main highlights of the upcoming Toyota-Maruti SUV is that it’ll be based on a localised version of the TNGA-B platform and be powered by a self-charging hybrid powertrain, a first for a compact SUV in India. The powertrain will likely be Toyota’s latest 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol-hybrid unit that powers the Yaris Cross.

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Toyota is expected to unveil the compact SUV in June and launch it by August. With localisation of parts, expect competitive prices for both the Toyota and Maruti-badged hybrid SUVs which will rival the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Astor, Volkswagen Taigun and the Skoda Kushaq.