Indian Subsidies Could Amp Up Camry Hybrid Sales

MUMBAI – Toyota Kirloskar launches the latest Toyota Camry hybrid in India.

The locally produced sedan is competitively priced at Rs2.98 million ($44,500), the same as the gasoline-powered Camry sold in the country.

This is possible because each Camry hybrid expects to qualify for a subsidy of Rs200,000 ($3,000) from the government’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. The program is funded with Rs230 billion ($3.4 billion) for providing such assistance for buyers of electric or hybrid-electric cars.

The agency is drawing up a road map for EVs and hybrids in India by 2020. Deputy managing director Sandeep Singh says, “Our objective is to generate awareness on hybrid technology among Indian customers.”

The Camry hybrid is produced on a separate assembly line at one of Toyota’s two plants in Bidadi near Bangalore. Bookings and deliveries have begun.

Prospects for hybrids in India look good for two reasons: The cars may offer consumers relief from rapidly rising costs of conventional fuels, and the government subsidies may offset ownership and operation costs higher than those of conventionally fueled vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki India is developing a small hybrid car. Technicians and engineers from both auto makers are working on the concept and the design process has just started, but they hope to have a product on the market before 2020.

Mahindra & Mahindra has no hybrid vehicle, but it has installed fuel-saving stop/start battery technology in its Scorpio SUV and Bolera multipurpose vehicle. The system stops the engine when the car idles for more than 10 seconds and restarts when the accelerator is pressed.

Tata offers a similar stop/start system in its Nano microcar, but the auto maker has not progressed toward manufacturing a hybrid vehicle.

Honda India in 2006 introduced completely built-up Civic Hybrid models in India. Since then the Toyota Prius hybrid and Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle have gone on sale in the country, but these marketing efforts only were exploratory. The locally built Camry, meanwhile, is well-positioned in a growing market.