Toyota hopes to drive Prius in India with 'green car' subsidy

Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese car major that is currently facing some roadblocks with its hybrid car Prius in the global markets, is hopeful of working out a subsidy for the car as it enters the Indian market as a completely built unit (CBU) in March this year.
Currently, CBUs attract a duty of over 100 per cent in India, and the Prius is expected to cost between Rs 26.55 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh here thanks to the high customs duty. The company has been in talks with the Centre since the last six months, and is eagerly waiting for this year’s Union Budget to have some good news for them.

Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director, TKM said, “We are expecting the government to offer some incentives for buying an environment-friendly vehicle,” adding that the quantum of incentive is not specified. Toyota India feels that this is not just any other imported luxury vehicle and that the government could allow an incentive in the form of a subsidy to encourage the sales of ‘green’ cars.

TKM plans to sell around 200 units of the car this year. Prius is the world’s first mass-produced and largest-selling hybrid vehicle, having sold nearly 1.5 million units so far. Toyota has already received orders for 54 units in India.

The global trouble with Prius follows close on the heels of Toyota’s recall of 8 million cars (including Corolla and Camry) around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals. The Prius was recalled for brake software flaws. When asked if this could impact the launch of the car here, Nakagawa said that TKM would go ahead with its India launch plans as usual.

TKM had initially approached Toyota Motor Corporation for subsidies, but was advised to talk to the government of India.

As a part of the launch campaign, TKM is organising road shows across the country, and also showcasing the vehicle at auto shows to enable the potential consumer to have a touch and feel of the Prius.

Meanwhile, the company is all set to go ahead with the production of its new car Etios that will be available in a hatchback and a sedan version. Production is scheduled to start from December this year at its Bidadi plant and the car will hit the roads during the first quarter of 2011 calendar year. The company had sold 55,497 units in the country in 2009 and targets to sell 70,000 units this year. In 2011, however, TKM plans to sell 70,000 units of the Etios, taking its net sales number to above 1.4 lakh.

Hyundai Sonata hybrid to be unveiled at New York Auto Show

As people become more comfortable with the hybrid technology, global manufacturers are rushing to get it right and launch their hybrid cars. Recently Toyota launched its hybrid car, Prius, in India.

While the rest of the auto manufacturers were sweating it out with their hybrid car competition, Hyundai maintained a low profile. But now seems to be the right time for the Korean car manufacturer to join the race. Hyundai is all set to unveil its new Sonata hybrid during the upcoming New York Auto Show which is scheduled in April. Soon after this Hyundai hopes to launch its own plug-in hybrid some time in 2013.

The hybrid Sonata is equipped with a 2.4-liter engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission coupled with a 30kW electric motor and a 1.4kWh battery pack. The battery pack will use lithium-polymer batteries rather than the NiMH batteries used by the other hybrids in its class. The polymer batteries are said to be more durable and cheaper to manufacture.

The Sonata hybrid will run on a parallel hybrid system. An electric motor and gas-burning engine will work in concert to increase fuel economy. It will be the first mass-produced vehicle to feature a lithium-ion battery under its hood.

Indian customers have still not warmed up to the concept of hybrid cars. One among the many reasons is that they are really expensive and so far the government has not done anything to bring relaxation on import duties.

Honda cars have a fan following in India but still when Honda launched its hybrid Civic in India in June 2008; it could not manage to get a warm response, mainly because of the price factor. But still, after the launch of Toyota Prius in India which is priced at around Rs 26.5 lakh and onward will give a tough competition to Hyundai’s hybrid Sonata when it is launched in India.

No words have been spilled on the pricing of the hybrid Sonata, but considering the technology, we can assume that it will cost much more than the petrol engine variant Sonata which are priced at Rs.13,84,841 and onwards in India.

Toyota launches Q world for its customers

Toyota has launched a unique auto show called Q world which will give cutomers the opportunity to see the Toyota Etios concept. The event will be spread across a span of four months from January to April, with the first leg to be conducted in Mumbai.

The event will be held in 10 cities across the country giving the cutomers an opportunity to have a touch and feel experience of Toyota vehicles. The event will also showcase the entire portfolio of Toyota cars along with the future line up of Toyota products like the LC 200. The ten cities to host the event will be Chandigarh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The Q World will also have events for fun and entertainment of customers. Here is what the original press release says:
"Toyota ‘Q’ World to come to Mumbai

• •Toyota ‘Q’ World – an exclusive auto show by Toyota – comes to Mumbai on 6th - 7thth Feb 2010
• •The event will span across 4 months from Jan – April in 10 cities
• •Customers across India to get an opportunity to see the Toyota Etios concept
• •An exciting array of vehicles to be showcased exhibiting Toyota quality and technology
• • Customers to get a touch and feel experience of Toyota range of cars with advanced and environment friendly technology

Kirloskar Motor announced today that it will hold the Toyota ‘Q’ World in Mumbai on 6th and 7th Feb 2010 at MMRDA Grounds,Bandra Kurla Complex. The event will be held from 12.00 noon to 6.00 p.m on Saturday(6th Feb) and 11.00 a.m to 7.00 p.m on Sunday(7th Feb).

The Toyota ‘Q’ World, a two day event, will travel across India spanning over a period of 4 months. The Delhi Auto Expo had customers coming to see the world premiere of the Etios concept and its latest technology; however the Toyota ‘Q’ World will take this experience ‘to the customer’.

The customers eagerly awaiting the launch of Etios concept will now get an opportunity, to see the vehicle, in their own city. The exhibit will include an exciting array of 11 vehicles which will give the customers a, never before, ‘touch and feel experience’ of Toyota vehicles. The exhibit includes the newly launched Etios concept and many more interesting and exciting vehicles in the current and future line up of Toyota products like the New Hybrid Prius, New Prado Diesel, Fortuner and LC 200.
The Toyota ‘Q’ World will span across 10 cities namely Chandigarh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It will also include various customer engagement events for fun and entertainment of the visitors."

Toyota to launch hybrid sedan Prius in India

Toyota Motor Corp plans to introduce its hybrid sedan Prius in India as an answer to soaring fuel prices and growing concerns over emissions, a top official at its Indian joint venture said.

"We are preparing to bring Prius into the Indian market though we have not set any timeline yet," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd vice-chairman Vikram Kirloskar told IANS in an interview.

"In the run-up, we have to develop skills to service it and make spare parts available across the country," he added.

The 2008 version of Prius has been adjudged the most fuel-efficient midsize carUS. Sold in over 40 countries across regions, the hybrid variant has also been rated as the third least carbon dioxide emitting vehicle in Britain. in the

Kirloskar described Prius as a "great car" but admitted it was "expensive upfront".

"In the long-run, it is economical, with higher mileage and lower maintenance cost. We are confident of its acceptability in the Indian market as it runs both on electricity and fuel."

Positioned between Toyota's Corolla and Camry in the luxury segment, Prius uses an all-electric compressor for cooling. Classified as a super ultra low emission vehicle, the eco-friendly car can be propelled by either petrol and electric power.

"We are aware that Honda is launching its hybrid variant in the Indian market soon despite high import tariff. We can also do it with due preparation. As I said earlier, we have to gear up to service such a premium car by training our personnel and stocking enough spare parts with the dealer network," Kirloskar said.

As the first commercially mass-produced gas-electric hybrid, one million Prius vehicles were sold by April worldwide, including 592,000 units in the US and 315,000 units in Japan.

In India, Toyota Kirloskar already markets Corolla and Camry in the premium segment, besides Innova in the multi-utility and Prado in the sports utility segments.

Corolla and Innova are manufactured at its Bidadi plant, about 40km from India's technology hub of Bangalore, while Camry and Prado are shipped from Toyota's production facilities in Japan in completely knocked down form and assembled here.

"Though we entered the Indian market over a decade ago, we chose to be in niche and premium segments. As a marketing strategy, we first introduced Qualis, which was a run-away success in the multi-utility segment," Kirloskar said.

"We launched Innova by discontinuing Qualis and yet maintained market leadership in the segment. In the second-hand or used car market, Toyota brands commands highest price even today because of their value and durability," he said.

Denying that Toyota "missed the bus" or lost market space to global rivals such as Honda, Hyundai, Suzuki, Ford and General Motors by not being present across segments in India, especially in the dominant compact segment, Kirloskar said there was enough room to grow in a developing country where the automobile industry was maturing.

In the passenger car segment, the combined installed capacity of Indian automobile sector is about two million as against Toyota's annual worldwide capacity of 10 million units.

"With the Indian economy poised to grow over eight-nine percent, we see immense potential to grow, thanks to increasing purchasing power, higher aspirations among the generation next, better road connectivity and migrant-driven urbanization," Kirloskar said.

Toyota Kirloskar is setting up a second plant with an upfront investment of Rs.14 billion ($329 million) at Bidadi to manufacture a range of models, including its long-awaited compact car to take on dominant players like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors.

With an installed capacity of 100,000 units per annum, the new modular multi-platform plant is set to commence production in 2010.

The small car will be different from Toyota's existing models in the same segment, as it is being designed exclusively for the Indian market, Kirloskar said.