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Source : Hybrid cars on Indian roads by 2008?

The Bangalore-based Toyota Kirloskar Motors is testing its best-selling hybrid car, the Prius, at the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India facility for a possible launch of the dual fuel-powered car in the country.
A Toyota official said the company had no plans to launch the car in the immediate future, given the lack of market size. He, however, said the company might contemplate of launching the vehicle at a later stage, when demand would grow.

Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra is all set to introduce a hybrid Scorpio in the second half of 2008. Pawan Goenka, president (automotive sector), M&M, said: "They were planning to launch the hybrid model of the Scorpio in the second half of 2008."

I don't think that we'll get Hybrids by 2008, it's some sort of over enthusiasm. And in an immature & non-tech savvy market like India, it won't find many takers.

There is already a similar thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ing-india.html ?.

Its not about maturity and non-tech. The purpose of a Hybrid car is good FE. And we already have very frugal diesel hatches and sedans here with comparable and even more FE at a lower price.

Have you seen the new Prius ?
2009 Toyota Prius: Spy Report - Popular Mechanics

If the front end is not so radical, it really looks good. The interior space cannot be matched.

Was just getting my car washed when a surveyor (agent) comes up and asks me to answer questions for a survey. I thought, good way to test my GK about automobiles :), I had to kill time.. So I said yes.

The survey was about whether in the coming three years I'll be interested in a hybrid car (if I'm planning to buy a car in the next three-four years.)


I'm giving here a rough detail of the survey form (with instructions to the agent in italics). I'm mentioning only the relevant and important questions, and the language of the question may not exactly be the same.


- Are you interested in buying a car in the next .. years (terminate survey if less than 3 years).

- Which brand do you think have brought something innovative and new in the market (I knew that Honda brought a hybrid in India but ARAI returned it coz it didn't have the requisite equipments to test it. So I said Honda).

- Which brand (Manufacturer) will you go for in your next car purchase? (Terminate if manufacturers like Maruti, Tata or Mahindra are selected)

- Do you know about Hybrid cars?

- Which Hybrid will you prefer? Petrol Hybrid/ Diesel Hybrid?

- Which type of car are you prefering to buy? (Terminate if SUV is selected. Proceed if Hatchback or Sedan is selected.)


After answering all the questions, I asked the man who is it for. He gave me some survey company's name which I can't recall now. I asked which manufacturer is it for. He said it can not be an Indian company because the instructions clearly mention, to terminate the survey if the buyer is interested in an Indian manufacturer. He cited his 11 years of experience and said its Toyota. He said he can identify the way manufacturers get questions drafted for surveys. And he was damn sure, that its Toyota. He also said that there will be hybrids in a hatch and a Sedan (as the instructions mentioned).

So do we expect Toyota in 2008 ? Toyota anyways has a scheduled launch of the "new" corolla as well as (the long awaited) Fortuner.

Do we get to see any of the following on the Indian roads in the near future :

* Honda Accord
* Honda Civic
* Nissan Altima
* Ford Fusion
* Suzuki Twin

High time the environmental issues are looked into and reduced dependency on OPEC.

Yes, Hybrid cars will be available in 2008. Anyone planning to buy a car now, I would advise them to wait till these are out. clap:

There was an article in today's newspaper.

[FONT=Consolas][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAwNy8xMi8xMyNBcjAyOTAw&Mode=H TML&Locale=english-skin-custom[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

well Honda is talking about bringing in the Civic hybrid as a CBU as early as april 2008.
I really wish the govt. wakes up and gives some sops on hybrid cars to make them affordable. I'll be in the market for a new car in the next year or two to replace my NHC. I've got addicted to the NHC's high FE and buying a bigger car (Civic) with lower FE just does not appeal to me. I will seriously consider a hybrid, if the price is right. I don't want to be punished with 100% duty for aspiring to own cleaner, more fuel efficient technology.
In 2009, Honda does plan to come out with a small, affordable hybrid. that should come to India sooner or later.
Let's hope for the best.

Looks good Srishiva. I got enamored with the Prius and hybrids last year in Canada. I was at a red light in an Accord with a Prius next to me. as the light turned green the Prius took off. And it was dead silent. Eventually, of course, the Accord passed the Prius easily but the low-end grunt surprised me.

Today spotted hybrid civic on expressway, noida.
No change in design, just a silver batch with "HYBRID" written on it. couldnt clicked the pics because 8-9 people were there shooting a video for auto expo. and they were not allowing us to take the pics.

good stuff Hyundai.Lover. Or should that be Honda.Lover now?

Just get a Volkswagen 1.9 TDi. End of story. All hybrids are a joke. It's a scam.

I drove a large Hybrid sedan(Altima V6) in the US. In city traffic it was giving 35mpg. The kind of FE you can get from a hybrid is amazing.
On the freeway however, the hybrids are not that much of a use.

Or something like a BMW 3 series diesel which will give you anywhere between 35-40 mpg average (city and highway) and tons of useful lower end torque as well.