Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota is working on multiple technologies, including all-electric and flex-fuel strong hybrid vehicles, for introduction in the Indian market in line with the government’s directive to cut crude oil imports and vehicular pollution, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) managing director Masakazu Yoshimura. The company, which operates in a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, has started testing a flex-fuel strong hybrid version of the multi-purpose vehicle Hycross in India. “This is a prototype which we are testing for the first time globally for the market in India. It can take ethanol as well as with the strong hybrid and can have a better fuel efficiency of about 40-50% (compared to gasoline),” said Yoshimura.

He declined to specify a timeline for commercial production of the vehicle but said extensive testing is on, after which the vehicle will go in for homologation and certification. Unveiling the prototype of the world’s first BS 6 (stage II), electrified flex fuel vehicle of Toyota, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said, “Ethanol being an indigenous, clean and renewable fuel holds a promising future for India. The government’s focus on ethanol is for achieving energy self-reliance, spurring the incomes for farmers, and having a better impact on the environment.”

Gadkari said the government’s plan is “not only to diversify agriculture surpluses towards the energy sector but also generate wealth from waste using 2G technology for producing ethanol from bio-waste”. “A lot of emphasis is being laid on building and expanding the necessary infrastructure to produce ethanol in the whole country,” he said. Additionally, Toyota is working on solid-state batteries and hydrogen-powered vehicles, both of which technologies can make their way to the Indian market.

For now, the company plans to continue to introduce electric vehicles in the market along with partner Suzuki to shore up volumes sustainably in India. Yoshimura said the company has received a robust response to the strong hybrid variants of the Toyota Hyryder and Toyota Innova Hycross. The company is now undertaking measures to ramp up production and reduce waiting period on the vehicles, he said.“ We have been taken by surprise by the response. We had to stop taking bookings of the top trims because the waiting period had increased to two years. I personally would tried to see the numbers below six months,” he said.

The company has started a third shift at its facility in Bidadi, Karnataka, to hasten deliveries. While the company is working on battery electric vehicles, once renewable energy accounts for a more favorable part of the energy mix and charging infrastructure for electric cars comes up across the country, the company will examine opportunities to bring in pure electric vehicles in the local market. Toyota continues to see strong demand for its products in India and is on track to clock its highest sales yet this year, said Yoshimura. In the first four months of this financial year, its sales volume increased 26% year-on-year to 77,439 units. Before 2022-23, when TKM sold 174,015 units, the company’s best performance was in 2012-13, when it sold 165,504 units.