Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the Indian arm of the Japanese car maker, introduced the Camry Hybrid in Mumbai on 28th of August. Notably, Toyota Camry Hybrid is the first hybrid car that has been manufactured in the country. The event was filled with excitement and hype as people were eager to see the all new Camry Hybrid, which comes at a price of Rs. 29.75 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). This new car, according to sources, is going to be produced at different assembly plants owned by the company. The facility is located in Bidadi, which is on the outskirts of Bengaluru in Karnataka. Reports suggest that this plant is the 9th base in the world where Toyota will manufacture its hybrid vehicles.
It must be noted that strong rumours had been doing rounds about the launch of this car, but experts did not expect it to happen so soon. However, the month of August has already seen a lot of activity in the Indian car market with several models being launched while others were unveiled. Analysts feel that the market for hybrid cars in India is on the rise with continuously increasing fuel prices and awareness among customers regarding the environmental impact of emissions. A hybrid car runs on two sources, which includes a fuel engine and a electric motor. There is a lot of difference between electric cars and hybrid cars as the latter does not require any sort of external charging. Also, hybrid cars like Prius and Hybrid Camry, can be used as regular vehicles as well.
Present at the launch was Hiroshi Nakagawa, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, who was pretty upbeat about the car's prospects. "Toyota is a pioneer in Hybrid technology and thus we were very keen to manufacture the all New Camry Hybrid in India, as well. This is in line with Toyota's global philosophy to encourage the use of hybrid vehicles across the globe, for a greener tomorrow. Manufacturing Camry hybrid locally will be yet another step towards Toyota's global commitment," he was quoted as saying.
The new Toyota Camry Hybrid uses the combination of a 2.5-litre newly developed powertrain and an electric motor. One of the highlights of this car is the Hybrid Synergy Drive feature, which has the ability to shuffle between the petrol engine and electric motor. The good part about this feature is its capability to achieve optimum fuel efficiency by way of regulating outputs from the motor and powertrain. Incredibly, the engine motor and engine combine together to produce an output of around 203 bhp, which industry experts consider quite impressive. According to claims made by the manufacturer, Toyota Camry Hybrid renders a fuel economy of around 19.16 kmpl and produces CO2 emissions of 122.8 gm per km. Among other features, Toyota Camry Hybrid boasts of Electronically Controlled Continuous Variable Transmission (E-CVT), which reduces fuel consumption and enhances the driveability of the car.
Sources close to the company have said that Toyota wants to create a market for hybrid vehicles in India by communicating their benefits to people. Speaking about the same, Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for Marketing and Commercial at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “Our main objective behind introducing this product in India is to further generate awareness on hybrid technology amongst Indian customers. The New Camry Hybrid is an ideal combination of a luxury sedan and hybrid technology. The new Camry Hybrid will definitely distinguish our customers as responsible citizens." Adding further, he said that the company will be hoping to target individuals who have made significant accomplishments in life to reach a level of sophistication and class.
