Indian Autos blog

The hybrid car has not yet caught the fancy of the Indian market. Partly because of the half hearted attempts from manufacturers and partly because the government itself offers no incentive on hybrid cars. More importantly, the cost of the hybrid car itself keeps customers at bay. There were attempts made by 2 manufacturers to launch the hybrid car in India. But both of them failed quite miserably. Honda tried  [ Read More ]

In the quest to add to their image of ‘the most fuel efficient auto manufacturer’, India’s largest auto manufacturer, Maruti-Suzuki has developed two hybrid vehicles – ‘EECO Charge’ & ‘SX4 Hybrid’

The EEECO Charge is a fully electric MPV with a 50kW motor (that’s 67.98 bhp for the petrolheads) and a 24kWh Lithium-ion battery that promises a driving range of around 100km on one full charge. The car also has a ‘sport mode’ in which the top speed goes right up to 100km/hr (Tesla, you can take a sigh of relief now)

The SX4 Hybrid combines Suzuki’s 1.2l K-series engine with 50kW motor mated to a 5-speed Automated Manual Transmission to provide low emission and high fuel economy. The braking power of the car is converted to electricity and stored in the lithium-ion batteries which the electric motors can then use to propel the car. It is based on the same KERS concept introduced last year in Formula 1

Both the cars are a part of National Hybrid Propulsion Program (NHPP) and the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) program and will be used as transport vehicles for CWG games. The company recently handed over 2 Maruti Suzuki SX4 Hybrid cars and 1 Eeco Charge to Arvinder Singh Lovely, Hon’ble Minister of Transport for NCT Delhi. The remaining 14 cars will be delivered shortly.

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Toyota Prius has been the world’s best selling hybrid, since its launch in the international market in 1997. The Prius has sold more than two million units since then. It was a bold move by Toyota’s Indian arm to launch the Prius in March 2010 in the wake of global recalls which affected the Prius as well.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM) launched the Prius Hybrid with a sales target of 12 units per month, and now Toyota is awestruck by the response to the Prius Hybrid. Toyota has received over 80 bookings for the Prius in three months, which is more than double the company’s projected sales numbers.

Toyota has delivered 45 cars till now. The majority of the Prius buyers are industrialists, doctors and corporate executives aged between 35 & 50 years. The Prius has been priced at Rs 26.5 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh (Ex-showroom, New Delhi).

The first hybrid car to be launched in India was the Honda Civic Hybrid which barely created any impact on the Indian consumer. Honda was forced to discontinue the Civic Hybrid after clearing stocks by offering a discount of 8 lakh rupees. The car failed to live up to Honda’s expectations. There could have been several reasons for its poor performance, but many hold the looks of the car, different from the normal Honda Civic accountable.

But Toyota, with its Midas’ touch in India, has got it right with the Prius Hybrid as the model enjoys a great deal of popularity all over the world.

The success of the Prius clearly marks a change in the Indian car market, with well-to-do Indian consumers willing to shell out the extra money for a technologically advanced environment-friendly (debatable) car.

Honda Siel India would be observing these developments closely, so could Honda bring its other hybrids, possibly the CR-Z hybrid to India?

The Outlander and Montero could use Concept PX-MiEV’s technology in few years

Car Advice Australia have revealed that Mitsubishi will introduce the next generation Montero with plug-in hybrid technology. The Mitsubishi Montero is offered in India with a 3.2-liter diesel engine that can be purchased with either manual or automatic transmission.

CA Australia also reports the Outlander, which just received a facelift in India, could also come with a similar hybrid powertrain.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited president and CEO, Robert McEniry -

The next generation will be plug-in hybrid and will do more and have more capabilities than current models.

Mitsubishi exhibited a hybrid SUV named Concept PX-MiEV which was a plug-in hybrid type at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.

Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid system displayed in the PX-MiEV concept is driven by all four wheels by two permanent magnet synchronous motors in combination with a 1.6L DOHC MIVEC petrol engine which powers the front-wheels and acts as a generator. The car can also be used as a generator to run household appliances!

The new Toyota Prius was Japan’s best selling vehicle and one of our favorites

The update is that Toyota will not be making a loss on the Prius in India. This is not exactly a “breaking news”, but rather a no brainer. After all, every car maker wants to introduce models that make good money for them.

Strategically speaking, the question is important as the Prius is coming to India under an limited order of 200 vehicles. The pricing is above Rs. 25 lakh and Toyota already have orders for 54 vehicles. That is a good order booked in a short time for this car.

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors had this to say in an interview for Forbes India -

Priced at over Rs. 25 lakh, isn’t the car very expensive?
We always knew that we are going to be very expensive and that’s primarily because of the custom duty levied on the car. We did approach Toyota Motor Corporation for subsidies but we were advised to speak to the Government of India. That’s how it works in most other countries where we have launched the Prius. Most governments have a subsidy or concession plan in place. So for the last six months we have been talking to the government, but we realised that it will take time to get any special concessions. The question was whether we should wait to work with the government, or go ahead and launch it. So, we decided to be selfish and launched the Prius which has all the features of any luxury car and I think it will connect with a limited, select group of people.

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Some Ford Fusion hybrids have braking issues which will be rectified

If you think hybrids are the future of automobiles, hit your “Brakes” and wait. Over the last few months we witnessed the massive recall of Toyota vehicles in the US and UK to fix faulty accelerator pedals. This is followed by Honda’s recall of its City and Jazz models across many countries to fix faulty electronic windows switches on the driver’s door.

The latest cause of worry is one of Toyota’s best selling cars in the US – the Prius. Toyota has acknowledged a problem with the brakes on the Prius. The hybrid Prius has an advanced regenerative braking system that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy. Apparently, the problem is caused by a glitch in the brake software that has forced the company to issue a massive recall of 270,000 Prius vehicles in US and Japan.

Well, Toyota is not alone. It appears that one of the other best selling hybrid cars might have an problem as well. Ford has launched a “Customer Satisfaction Program” aimed specifically for Ford Fusion Hybrid (sedan, not connected with the Fusion sold in India) customers. Cars manufactured prior to Oct 17, 2009 will receive a free software update to reduce the chances of a brake failure. Ford has not acknowledged a fault with the braking system on the Fusion hybrid, but indicates that the customers might experience a “different brake feel” due to the switch between the electronic and hydraulic brake systems.

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The third generation Toyota Prius needs to be assembled in India if it has to find success

Business Standard is reporting that Toyota is presently conducting feasibility studies in India for its hybrid car Prius. It is understood that Toyota will not stop with just offering petrol and diesel powered variants in the country.

In March this year, to estimate the reaction of the general public, the Toyota Prius was put on display at the 18th International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF )in Bangalore.

Toyota could take the CBU route but that will bump costs into head-spinning levels. The Indian government does not offer any duty slashes for imported hybrid vehicles. The Honda Civic Hybrid had no takers when its price tag was around 20-25 lakh rupees. When the price was brought down by 8 lakh rupees, the consignment was sold in just a matter of days.

That leaves us with just one feasible option – CKD kits.

Only if priced well, will the Prius find buyers in India. Maybe Toyota could run an introductory offer so that Indian customers get familiar with the technology and added benefits of a hybrid car. Later on, as the word spreads, it could hike prices according to the level of demand.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how many hybrid vehicles Toyota wants to sell in India

What kind of a rumor is that? Is it worth even considering such a case?

As per floating rumors, Mahindra could be working on an affordable hybrid two wheeler for the Indian market. They might offer battery packs+motor along with either petrol or LPG option.

Mahindra is not new to hybrids or hybrid technology. They showcased a Mahindra Scorpio SUV concept vehicle with hybrid powertrain at last year’ Auto Expo.

Some reports in the past claim this vehicle was meant primarily for the United States market where Mahindra will start selling its products next year.

Even if Mahindra was working on hybrid scooter or motorcycle, which price band would they choose to compete? Mahindra is a type of company which first decides on the competitor and then designs a product to wipe it out. Hybrid vehicles are costly to build as they involve additional parts and customers would also have to pay more to maintain them.