[shankar.balan]

Thats why RTA Taxicabs in Dubai are all Camrys and once in a while one comes across a Green Taxi in the form of a Prius!

[SoumenM]

Atrocious pricing to say the least! Yes - its a CBU - taxes and what not but why bother to launch it at that price without planning for local assembly?

What Toyota should do is get the RAV4 in India. Compete with Maruti and Hyundai for the small SUV segment.

http://www.toyota.com.au/rav4

[Avikbrio]

Why can't the government give import tax exemptions to hybrid cars? These are supposedly better for our environment. Lesser tax means, more people can afford hybrid cars. Would it also lead to automakers here in India to focus more on hybrid R&D, in order to bring out true hybrid models?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Swarit19

For a car that has "green" written all around or atleast had previously it i.e if you had only heard about it here and there from friends, the mileage it's giving is beyond underwhelming.

In the city, the Prius can deliver over double the efficiency of a Corolla. Some Prius owners in India claim 20+ kmpl in the city. Can you think of any similarly-sized petrol sedan that comes even close?

The difference isn't as much on the highway though.

Originally Posted by Avikbrio

Why can't the government give import tax exemptions to hybrid cars? These are supposedly better for our environment.

Because imports don't create jobs in India, nor any infrastructure & investment. I agree with the Government taxing the hell out of CBUs. If you want to sell something here, build it here.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

It costs around 80,000 odd UAE Dirhams in Dubai which is near enough as a value prop.
Which comes to about 15 lacs. Hence the statement.

125% goes to the government since its a CBU. Thats near 20 right there, including other cess etc.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

So, they are charging about 9 lakhs more for the 'extra street cred' of a known hybrid.

Camry hybrid is a CKD, while the Prius is a CBU.

Camry hybrid also receives subsidies under the FAME initiative, and looking at both prices, I feel they have much higher margins with the Camry. And nopes, they wont bring it further down now, since Honda went and priced the Accord Hybrid way above it.

[cbatrody]

In terms of mileage – Toyota claim that Prius gives a mileage of 26.1 Km/L, which is 3.8 L / 100 Kms. The Fuel tank capacity is 42 Ltrs and is expected to drive over 1000 Kms in a full tank. Also, the mileage is expected to be more in city driving conditions vs the freeways, the reason being, in city conditions, one tends to apply brakes or slowdown the car more frequently than the freeways that increase the battery charging time and hence more mileage.

Furthermore, this car is one of the most ecofriendly cars that emits significantly less CO2 vs its counterparts.

I generation: 1997 – 1.5 L Engine – 114 gm / Km of CO2 emission
II generation: 2003 – 1.5 L Engine – 104 gm / Km of CO2 emission
III generation: 2009 – 1.8 L Engine – 89 gm / Km of CO2 emission
IV generation: 2016 – 1.8 L Engine – 70 gm / Km of CO2 emission

Safety features include pre-collision braking system, lane departure alert that also steers you back into the lane, adaptive cruise control & rear cruise traffic alert system – which is very useful in reversing the car. In addition, there is an intelligent parking assist system with line demarcations for easy & accurate parking.

The major difference between a Camry Hybrid and a Prius is Fuel Economy. The Camry is more spacious, comfortable, powerful, has a better interior etc., whereas they seem to have sacrificed everything else for fuel economy in Prius.

The starting price for a Prius – Dynamic here in the UAE is AED 82,000 and the top of the range Iconic costs around AED 95,000 to 98,000.

[Swarit19]

Originally Posted by GTO

In the city, the Prius can deliver over double the efficiency of a Corolla. Some Prius owners in India claim 20+ kmpl in the city. Can you think of any similarly-sized petrol sedan that comes even close?

The difference isn't as much on the highway though.

Yes I was going by the general cruising MPG. Didn't mean it's bad but for something that's supposed to be the first step in the change (hybrid cars in general till full electric power trains become the norm), bump for normal trips sure isn't substantial enough for me. If someone were to buy it strictly based on it being an efficient vehicle that could help the environment, price difference for what it is offering normally (highway cruising or the typical use of normal sedans generally) doesn't make sense would you not agree? All it has is high mpg in city because of regenerative braking but for a city only purpose, smaller electric city car would do much better (given hybrid city cars launch in India soon).

Because imports don't create jobs in India, nor any infrastructure & investment. I agree with the Government taxing the hell out of CBUs. If you want to sell something here, build it here.

But on another hand is it not good to allow companies to atleast test the sales potential before forcing them to build infrastructure for it in India? Say exemptions for eco friendly hybrid cbu's till 200 units. Otherwise how will we see more diversity in the Indian market if we alienate all the brands trying to enter? It certainly doesn't make sense to invest everything without knowing anything about the response to me.

Apologies if I went off topic.

[Avikbrio]

Originally Posted by GTO

Because imports don't create jobs in India, nor any infrastructure & investment. I agree with the Government taxing the hell out of CBUs. If you want to sell something here, build it here.

Yes I know that but I am specifically talking only about hybrid cars. Right now we don't really have many proper hybrid cars, and we don't know if any manufacturers here are working on it or when they plan to introduce them. Hybrids in cars <20 lacs would be good for a fuel efficient market like us and also help in mitigating pollution somewhat.

If the government gives some more tax breaks (like the current FAME scheme) for imported hybrids, and Indians lap it up, maybe it might help push the manufacturers here to look at hybrid tech more seriously and bring it to the masses?

Just my thoughts!

[Screwdriva]

Only in India does a Prius hybrid cost 25% more than a Camry Hybrid. Everywhere else in the world, its the other way around.

When will our government understand how to incentivize correctly?

[extreme_torque]

This is hollywood's green car of choice and I do not think you can say that about the Camry. Those credential alone would make it more expensive than Camry apart from the fact that it looks futuristic (a little too futuristic and ugly in my opinion) and more importantly does not come in a non-hybrid avataar. I want to know though if there is any difference between the hybrid system in a Camry and the Prius. Would make for an interesting read.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Swarit19

Yes I was going by the general cruising MPG. Didn't mean it's bad but for something that's supposed to be the first step in the change (hybrid cars in general till full electric power trains become the norm), bump for normal trips sure isn't substantial enough for me. If someone were to buy it strictly based on it being an efficient vehicle that could help the environment, price difference for what it is offering normally (highway cruising or the typical use of normal sedans generally) doesn't make sense would you not agree? All it has is high mpg in city because of regenerative braking but for a city only purpose, smaller electric city car would do much better (given hybrid city cars launch in India soon).

:

I drove a Prius in the US for nearly 9 years. My highway mileage was always above 25 kmph except in extreme cold conditions. When the temperature dropped below minus 10, the mileage dropped a bit but in normal times, it had very good highway mileage if you drove it sedately. Even on a highway, there are plenty of opportunities for having the petrol engine off and taking advantage of regeneration. Anytime you lift your foot off the accelerator, the petrol engine switches off. This happens a lot when you are slowing down, cruising or even going downhill. Under gentle acceleration, you can run on all electic even at moderate highway speeds for some periods. In summary, I found the Prius to be as good on highways as in the city.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

Only in India does a Prius hybrid cost 25% more than a Camry Hybrid. Everywhere else in the world, its the other way around.

When will our government understand how to incentivize correctly?

Government is doing it just right in my opinion. You assemble in India and if it's a hybrid - you get subsidies. Camry hybrid gets it.

Won't get it if you simply import the built product into India like in the case of the Prius, or even the Accord Hybrid which is priced similarly as the Prius.

[Sparks]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I want to know though if there is any difference between the hybrid system in a Camry and the Prius. Would make for an interesting read.

Apart from the primary ice engine and the battery capacity and output of the combined system the hybrid system is the same in Prius, Camry and the upcoming Lexus

[///RMan]

40+ lacs a pop and they still find takers! Saw this blue one and another red duo the same day.