Toyota Prius a Possibility for India --ACI Website

[kpbhatt]

The most successful Hybrid car in the world could very well be coming to India. Toyota’s Senior Managing Director, Akira Okabe has indicated that the Prius could be one of the new cars that the Japanese giant brings into India.

Article link here :

:: AUTOCAR INDIA - CAR AND BIKE MAGAZINE ::

[abhilashvk]

A car which retails at USD 20,000 ? Wonder how many Indian consumers will buy that for 10L +. The Hybrid concept is getting popular in the US, however I see a shift towards Diesel engines in India. I fell it is better to invest in a diesel engine than spend that huge margin on a Hybrid car that uses Petrol.

[prabhuav]

It retails for 20k USD.. Add the 106% duty on that .. you are talking Camry money here... for a car that is smaller than the corolla

And the maintenance will kill. Batteries that are used in it will be expensive...

[Karandeep81]

given the concept of clean fuel and it being a toyota, I guess there would be quite a lot of people who will go for it ... look forward to seeing it on our 'desi' roads

[srishiva]

It would be way too costly, lot more than 10L. Why would one buy a hybrid when a diesel would give the same exact mileage (doesn't matter if they are dirty) for so much less.

[midlifecrisis]

Originally Posted by srishiva

It would be way too costly, lot more than 10L. Why would one buy a hybrid when a diesel would give the same exact mileage (doesn't matter if they are dirty) for so much less.

My thoughts exactly. Going by the costs in the US vs the cost in India of existing cars in the market, this would come in at the 13 - 15 L range. From what I know, diesel is a cleaner fuel to burn. IMHO this wouldn't really click here.

[AMATMO]

Originally Posted by abhilashvk

A car which retails at USD 20,000 ? Wonder how many Indian consumers will buy that for 10L +. The Hybrid concept is getting popular in the US, however I see a shift towards Diesel engines in India. I fell it is better to invest in a diesel engine than spend that huge margin on a Hybrid car that uses Petrol.

i agree it is expensive and impractical

well @ abhilashvk you are mixing up two totally different things
this car should be a CBU with few people interest or who would like to show off that they care for nature would buy

that has got nothing to do with diesel engine
even toyota knows its not going to be sold in active numbers
they are not intersted in selling the car as a VFM or for economy sake its just a way to show toyota 's presence in this segment
and for this they dont need to work atall the car is readi all they have to do is sell it as a CBU and they dont mind selling only few units


but what you are talking of is a concept for selling cars in very large numbers which require much higher investment and market study

so dont try to mix this up

as for diesel cars , toyota will think of it simultanously,seperatly
this hybrid is not a replcement for diesel cars
there are different segments toyota has to be presnt in and it has to focus on all those segments not just one

even in USA its alot popular among the stars

[abhilashvk]

this car should be a CBU with few people interest or who would like to show off that they care for nature would buy

You are right, but that doesn't make numbers right? Unless the numbers are there will they make any presence? Just like Chevy got Forester to India and was one of the first SUVs but failed to make presence because of the cost, after sales, lack of diesel variant etc. Right now we cannot predict the life of Hybrids in India. Prius runs on gasoline and Electricity, so whats the life of the battery in Indian conditions? If they bring Hybrids with Fuel cell, will hydrogen be available through out? I feel 2010 is too far to predict anything.

[mrkanitkar]

Good to know that this car may come here. It does not matter how many will buy, but it does matter, this car is available in India too. If we take a close look at variety of cars sold in US and Europe, most of them are not here in India. If Indians get choice, I am sure they will definatly buy few of them from showrooms. In last 10 years, Honda and Toyata has sold good nos. Ten years back many people were wondering about nos Honda and Toyata will sell. Even Skoda is selling good nos, they are not competing with Maruti nos, which is not expected. Finally we are getting taste of great international quality products, I think that is important. If someone make few of these cars available on rent, (like Enterprise car rental in US), I am sure few of us, will rent these cars for week or two and enjoy.

[GTO]

Anyone remember the Thread on the Civic Hybrid?