Toyota feels Indian market is not ready for hybrid cars yet and puts a hold on releasing Toyota Prius. In the Britain market, the hybrid Toyota Prius car has triumphed in a major customer satisfaction survey and has attained an iconic status due to high satisfaction levels with the model’s quality and reliability. The petrol/electric Prius was already the favourite “green” motor, with sales touching one million since the original went on sale in 1999. But as for the Indian market, Prius is put on the back burner for issues pertaining to customs duty and a competitive price.
The hybrid cars, which use both petrol engine and electric motor, are fuel-efficient and have lower emission levels, making them environment-friendly.
Toyota and Honda are the leading manufacturers of hybrid vehicles globally, and Toyota Prius (launched 11 years ago) is the market leader. Environmental concerns (and rising gasoline prices in the US) have spurred the sales of these greener cars. Toyota was looking to launch the Prius car in 2009 at Rs 20-22 lakh while Honda’s Civic hybrid currently costs Rs 13.36 lakh. For competitive reasons as well, Prius is on hold for India. Meanwhile, the recent price cut of Honda Civic hybrid and the new launches in the mid-size segment like VW Jetta and Honda City are putting pressure.
Due to their superior technology, low emissions and fuel efficiency, high import duty of 114% seems to be a major deterrent. Because, the car would have to be imported to the Indian market which would practically double the cost of selling the car in the Indian market.
A Toyoshima, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar has said in a statement that the company is studying the Indian market to introduce the hybrid vehicle. He added: “But at current levels of duty, it could cost anywhere between Rs 20-25 lakh.” The car sells for around Rs. 10 lakh in the US market where it is pretty popular due to its environment friendly status. The company is also considering asking the Indian government to relax duties on such hybrid cars to promote them in the Indian market.