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Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Friday launched Camry Hybrid electric vehicle with an introductory price of ₹36.95 lakh (ex-showroom, across India).
The vehicle is powered by a 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder Toyota New Global Architecture petrol hybrid dynamic force engine which gives a mileage of 23.27 kmpl (as per tests), the company said.
“Safety continues to be our top priority with nine airbags,” the company said, adding that the new Camry received a 5-star safety rating from the New Car Assessment Programme for South-East Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP).
“Globally, we have been the pioneers in hybrid technology and this has been an important focus for us in a market like India which is moving towards a greener, sustainable future. Clearly, the Camry hybrid electric vehicle reinforces our mission of developing ever-better cars,” Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director, TKM, said at the launch.
Toyota sells Camry Hybrid in over 100 countries and so far has sold over 19 million units. In India, the vehicle was first introduced in 2002 with a completely built unit (imported) and since then, TKM has sold around 11,500 units in India.
Hybrid vehicles
The Camry Hybrid is being manufactured at the Bengaluru facility.
When asked about the sales of the Camry and adoption rate of such vehicles in India, N Raja, Deputy Managing Director, TKM said the company would keep working to popularise hybrid vehicles in the country.
“We are certain that the unmatched advantages of hybrid technology, ‘fun-to-drive’ characteristics and alluring styling on an equal footing with superlative build quality, reliability and safety will exceed customer experience,” he said.
However, he ruled out mass segment models (small cars) with such hybrid technologies in the near future. He said the policy rules in the country should be long-term so that the industry can plan better for future products as short-term policies hurt the industry sentiments.
For instance, under the GST regime, hybrid vehicles were put in the same category as big petrol and diesel luxury cars, attracting 28 per cent rate with a cess of 15 per cent, and such decisions led to fall in sales of such products.
“Pre-GST, we were selling more than 100 such cars, but post GST the sales has come down to less than 100 (a month),” he added.
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