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Toyota Prius India launch on hold
Indiablooms News Service
Mumbai, Nov 19: Japanese auto major Toyota has put the India launch of Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, on the back burner. Infrastructure issues, a steep duty structure and inability to launch at a competitive price are some of the reasons cited by company officials.
The recent move by Honda, Toyota’s arch rival, to slash the price of its Civic hybrid by Rs 8.14 lakh could also have interfered with Toyota’s plans to launch Prius in India, sources said. Toyota was looking to launch the car in 2009 at Rs 20-22 lakh. Honda’s Civic hybrid currently costs Rs 13.36 lakh.
Toyota and Honda are the leading manufacturers of hybrid vehicles globally, and Toyota Prius (launched 11 years ago) is the market leader, reported The Economic Times.
The hybrid cars, which use both petrol engine and electric motor, are fuel-efficient and have lower emission levels, making them environment-friendly. Toyota’s domestic arm, which does not have the required manufacturing infrastructure to roll out hybrid cars, is unsure of the initial volumes and feels that the Indian market is not yet ready for such cars.
Toyota Kirloskar, a joint venture between the Japanese company and Kirloskar Motors, was planning to import Prius as a CBU (completely-built-up units), as low volumes would make local manufacturing of the model unviable.
While Toyota Kirloskar expects strong demand for these cars due to their superior technology, low emissions and fuel efficiency, high import duty of 114% seems to be a major deterrent. Toyota, which also manufactures Prius in the US and Europe, is hoping that the government would support the manufacture of fuel-efficient and environment-friendly hybrid cars.
Toyota Kirloskar officials say that although they will continue to evaluate the situation for hybrid cars, the current focus would be to bring in the SUV Fortuner by the middle of 2009 and the all-new compact car by 2010. The Japanese auto major is increasing its investment to Rs 3,200 crore for setting up its second plant in Bangalore.
Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997 and is currently sold in more than 40 countries, with its largest markets being Japan and North America. Last year, Prius accounted for more than 40% hybrid sales in the US.
Worldwide cumulative sales of Prius in May 2008 crossed a million units. While Toyota chose to use a totally new brand name for its hybrid car, Honda elected to offer hybrid versions of its popular models such as Accord and Civic. Environmental concerns (and rising gasoline prices in the US) have spurred the sales of these greener cars.
Meanwhile, the recent price cut of Honda Civic hybrid and the new launches in the mid-size segment like VW Jetta and Honda City are putting pressure on Corolla Altis sales, sources said. TKML model portfolio currently includes Innova, Altis, Prado and Camry.
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