[sprashanth1982]

Originally Posted by 07CR

That's not necessarily true for all Hybrids. Toyota Hyryder/Maruti Grand Vitara prove it otherwise. Hyryder V Hybrid costs 23.6 OTR Pune, while V mild hybrid costs 20.3L. 3.3L more than conventional petrol is good enough considering the Hybrid benefits (added performance, more efficiency, better NVH, lesser carbon emissions etc.)

Even Honda city hybrid which is extremely exorbitantly priced, the premium is 5.2L for the Hybrid variant. It also gets additional equipment like Adaptive Cruise control with stop and go (conventional model gets only adaptive cruise), EPB with auto hold, a better wireless charger etc.

Considering Kia's pricing strategy, quite sure they would go Toyota's way than Honda's.

I guess you are right... my estimate of 6 Lacs was based on Toyota Hycross MPV - Hybrid vs Petrol version - which is definitely higher compared to the Toyota Hyryder (which is a more compact car/SUV) where the gap is only 3.3 Lacs. But, IMO even 3.3 Lacs is bit too high, as it would reduce the premium recovery period for the average Indian car buyer from 20 years to 11 years, which I feel is still not enough.

Your points about Hybrids having improved efficiency, NVH performance & lower emissions are correct; but only people like you, me & the motorheads on team-bhp will understand & appreciate that. Whereas, the average Indian car buyer IMO will mostly only care about the mileage benefit, extra premium cost & how quickly they can recover the extra cost.

I feel the price gap should ideally be brought under 2 Lacs, to be of any benefit to the average Indian car buyers. For reference, in the US the price gap between a Strong Hybrid car with equivalent Petrol car is around USD 2000/- or approx. INR 1.7 Lacs.

[volkman10]

New Kia compact SUV to be named Clavis.

The Clavis is likely to be one of the last major debuts for Kia India for 2024

Clavis to sit between Sonet and Seltos and will likely feature rugged and boxy looks.

the made-for-India Kia Clavis will see a global debut by the end of 2024 and have multiple powertrain options, including electric, but the internal combustion models are expected to go on sale before the EV. Hybrid options are also expected to be offered.

Link: (Kia’s third SUV to slot in between Sonet and Seltos)

[Raghav07]

The new hybrids sound cool, but like what many people have said, more models are needed.

Maybe a I20 sized hatchback, a competitor for Exter, etc. Maybe make a EV version of both, why not? Who else agrees with me on this?

Also the 1.2 Hybrid needs to make more than 100 hp to make it a competitive and popular engine. 1.5 Hybrid needs to make 130 hp or more.