Toyota Kirloskar drives in first mass-market hybrid car in India

Japanese carmakers taking the hybrid route for cleaner mobility in India

In tow with Japanese carmakers’ preference for hybrid vehicles as part of their anti-pollution drive, Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Friday unveiled the Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV, its first mass market hybrid car in India.

“We have three challenges -- pollution, crude oil import, which is leading to a trade deficit, and increasing fuel charges. To tackle them, self-charging string hybrid electric vehicles are a practical solution for the country,” said Venugopal P B, vice-president, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Japanese automakers’ stress on hybrids stands distinct from the government’s heavy push for full electric vehicles. Auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and Honda Cars are pushing the government for incentives for hybrid vehicles similar to those that battery electric vehicles (BEV) get.

The primary difference between hybrid and electric cars is that the hybrid car derives some of its power from a conventional gasoline engine with an electric motor. An EV gets all its power from electrical sources and has no emission.

The main reason for taking the hybrid path is concern over the availability of infrastructure and the high-end cost of electric vehicles, for which the carmakers say consumers may not be ready yet.

Toyota Kirloskar’s car, to be manufactured at a Toyota plant in Karnataka, will be sold in India and other global markets, including Africa. Suzuki will take the SUV from Toyota’s operation in southern India and sell it under its own label.

While self-charging hybrid vehicles of Toyota have been launched before, this is the first time the company is entering the mass electrification segment. Venugopal said the Hyryder gave 40-60 per cent more fuel efficiency than its traditional engine counterparts.

When asked about a full electric vehicle from the Toyota stable in the country, Venugopal said India was a diverse country and would require varied solutions.

“Globally Toyota has every technology for cleaner mobility. But our product line-up will reflect how best we can match the government’s directions, infrastructure, and customer demand,” he said.

Honda, which launched a hybrid version of its popular sedan City, has said the first phase of the clean mobility journey for the firm in India will be through hybrid.

“Hybrid is the most reachable and, perhaps, the most practical model. We need to observe the reaction of the market and competitors and plan the future,” he said, adding that the fuel efficiency of the hybrid variant was 40-45 per cent better.

R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker, recently said vehicles powered by hybrid technology, natural gas, and biofuels were environmentally more beneficial than their electric counterparts, considering the fact India generated about 75 per cent of its electricity from coal, an unclean fuel.