Toyota mulls electric, flex fuel, electrified flex fuel & plug-in hybrid cars for India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has always advocated the need for a multi-pronged powertrain technology instead of focusing only on electric vehicles. The Japanese carmaker aims to adopt that strategy for the Indian passenger vehicle market. The automaker that showcased the Toyota Urban BEV concept and bZ4X electric car at the Auto Expo 2025 of Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, mulls the plan to launch electric, flex fuel, electrified flex fuel and plug-in hybrid models in the country.

Toyota feels that under the current circumstances, a strong hybrid is the most practical solution supplemented by other technologies, including electric, flex fuel, electrified flex fuel, and plug-in hybrid in India. Speaking about this, Tadashi Asazuma, Deputy Managing Director - Sales-Service-Used Car at Toyota Kirloskar Motor & Lexus India, told PTI that India is one of the most important markets for the brand. "So in terms of the technologies, we are thinking of how to contribute to the Indian auto market, what will best suit India. However, as of now, we think that the strong hybrid is a kind of practical answer to start with," he said.

Elaborating further, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Executive Vice President & Country Head Vikram Gulati said the company has a multi-pathway corridor ranging from battery electric to hydrogen, plug-in hybrid and flex fuels. "Our approach is that we feel we have to tackle the problem of carbon (emission) and energy at a much faster scale. For that, everything is needed, including electric, flex fuel, flex fuel-electrified, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, because all consumers don't have the same need," Gulati noted.

Speaking about Toyota's plans for a full-electric vehicle in India, he said that EVs have seen a slowdown in the global market in the recent past, which may or may not happen in India and the company would first like to check the customer preferences. However, he didn't reveal any timeline for the launch of an electric car.

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