Delhi Diesel Ban: Toyota Hybrid Car Sales Soar

After its well-documented tirade against the blanket ban on diesel vehicles in Delhi, there’s a silver lining in it for Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer has experienced a notable surge in the sales of its hybrid vehicles since the ban was imposed.

“After the Delhi ban, we have more than doubled the sales of Camry Hybrid to over 100 units a month from about 40 units last year,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor vice president (customer service group) B Padmanabha said in an interview. The Camry is clocking considerably high volumes of about 125 units a month, of which 92 per cent comes from its hybrid variant.

The Camry Hybrid continues to grow and its success signals the interest among car buyers to adopt alternative fuel technology not only for environment related benefits, but also to conserve fuel, said the company.

As for offering more hybrid vehicles in lower and mid segments, Toyota would only make a move once better setup is created for the same in India. “Globally, we have decided to sell more hybrid cars. We have a strong line-up. Once the eco system evolves, we will bring in more models. We believe that hybrid is the future,” added Padmanabh.

The manufacturer said that it is working with both the Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the government to promote this future technology among the country’s masses.

“There should be a situation where buying hybrid models would be a natural choice rather than a forced decision. Though hybrid cars are expensive now, volumes along with government sops for localisation will definitely drive costs down,” he said.

Source: Hindu Business Line

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