Toyota Prius could be coming to India

[navdeep]

Japanese automaker Toyota had showcased their hybrid car Prius at the International Engineering Trade Fair in New Delhi.
The company has now said that they are considering the possibility of launching Prius in the Indian market.
However, the car would have to be imported to the Indian market which would practically double the cost of selling the car in the Indian market.
A Toyoshima, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar has said in a statement that the company is studying the Indian market to introduce the hybrid vehicle. He added: “But at current levels of duty, it could cost anywhere between Rs 20-25 lakh.”
The car sells for around Rs. 10 lakh in the US market where it is pretty popular due to its environment friendly status.
The company is also considering asking the Indian government to relax duties on such hybrid cars to promote them in the Indian market

Source : Toyota Prius could be coming to India

[chanapli]

Unless Govt promotes this green vehicle with export duty..subs, Prius is going to be Reva story.

[theMAG]

If the govt. had not reduced it for the Reva they wont do it for any other car. We can safely presume the Prius at that price range will be one of the few models that didnt sell from Toyota

[WhiteKnight]

Prius is selling pretty well in US, especially in California. Last time I checked, it had very good resale value due to rather long waiting period for Prius
So, I don't think Toyota will launch it in India, especially through import route. Also, Toyota seems to be pretty conservative/play safe in product launches- remember Fortuner?

[man23ish]

I think it is in the interest of the government of India to liberalise the duty regime to allow hi-tech hybrid cars in India. Not-only these cars are fuel-efficient but environment friendly too.. Cars like Toyota Prius can and should be manufactured in India locally and be sold at a subsidy, since it saves the govt. exchequer of costly petroleum products from the OPEC.

[tsk1979]

A prius claims 50mpg highway. Which comes to about 15kmpl on highway.
Most diesels and some petrols do much better than that, so I wonder if its going to save any "oil money".

[nbr]

Originally Posted by chanapli

Unless Govt promotes this green vehicle with export duty..subs, Prius is going to be Reva story.

Rightly said. Unless we buyers r ready to sacrifice some extra money for the sake of cleaner environment , the success of hybrids depends !

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A prius claims 50mpg highway. Which comes to about 15kmpl on highway.
Most diesels and some petrols do much better than that, so I wonder if its going to save any "oil money".

True but the vehicle is capable of quite a few mods. A senator in the USA claimed to have put additional batteries in the boot of the vehicles and increase the fuel-efficiency upto 3-4 times. The prius uses the regenerative braking principle of DC-motors to re-charge the batteries and is ideal for stop-and-go city traffic.

It is not much fuel-efficient on the highways and honestly it is not a highway car at all. I've owned the Toyota Echo (The most F.E vehicle in 2000 in the USA), which was widely believed to be the predecessor for the Prius (Prius came out in 2002) and the Echo was a very good vehicle as well. I believe it has been phased out now..

[rahul_intlad]

Tushky,sajo something for you guys.

Toyota, which has a joint venture with the Kirloskars, is reportedly testing the Prius at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) facility for a possible launch of the dual fuel-powered car.

Source:
Going green on the road

[harsh87]

all the celebs will surely get it as is the case in the UK and US
you should see jeremy clarkson badmouthing the prius on topgear, though he badmouths everthying that isnt british

[THE-U-]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A prius claims 50mpg highway. Which comes to about 15kmpl on highway.
Most diesels and some petrols do much better than that, so I wonder if its going to save any "oil money".

Tanveer, I think you used imperial gallon in your calculation. For the US gallon (3.78 litres to a US gallon) the mileage works out to be:

1.6*50/3.78 ~ 21.2 kmpl

Since the Prius is supposed to give in excess of 55 to 60 mpg in the city, it may not be that bad, but the Camry Hybrid might be even better for Toyota to bring to India. Personally, Hybrids with their 8 year batteries are really overrated with regards to protecting the environment. One also hears estimates in excess of US$3000-4000 for the battery pack to be replaced.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A prius claims 50mpg highway. Which comes to about 15kmpl on highway.
Most diesels and some petrols do much better than that, so I wonder if its going to save any "oil money".

Europeans have the same argument and therefore the Prius is a flop. In USA where diesel is non existant, the Prius rules. Everywhere else its a great PR machine for Toyota.

Although a B segment diesel can easily do 50 mpg on the highway, its going to be a cramped and noisy ride. The Prius is almost as roomy as a D segment.

[CaliAtenza]

the prius is actually a neat car...i dunno if i would ever buy one. I just noticed when i got back to california this past saturday that diesel has become cheaper than petrol..at least at the shell gas stations.

[Equus]

They should instead get the Vios.. That would set the cat among the pigeons. India has some time to go before being ready for the Prius..

[diabloo]

2009: Toyota to launch hybrid car Prius | Car Reviews | Car Tuning | Car Accessories

Japanese auto major Toyota is planning to launch the first mass-marketed hybrid car in India early next year.
Hybrid cars, which use both petrol engine and electric motor, are usually fuel efficient and has lower emission levels, making them environment-friendly.