Taking a cue from carmakers such as Hyundai, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), Tata Motors and so on, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has stated that its diesel engines are here to stay and will comply with new emission norms like BS-VI (phase 2), and BS-VII. A senior executive of Toyota’s India arm stated that diesel is no more considered a ‘dirty’ fuel, and cars driven on this can have lower emissions than petrol.
The decision comes at a time when companies like Maruti Suzuki, Honda Cars India, etc., have pulled the plug on their diesel offerings with the implementation of BS-VI (phase 2) emission norms.
“There is complete fuel neutrality in terms of emissions. That is because whether you're using (cars run on) CNG, petrol, or diesel, the emission limits are more or less the same. Today diesel is as clean as any other fuel,” Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice President, TKM, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interaction.
TKM claims that it has a strong presence in the MPV and SUV segments, where its offerings include diesel-powered variants of the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner. The company’s total output in the last financial year was 1,67,000 units, including 44,000 units of Innova Crysta and 27,000 units of the Fortuner in both petrol and diesel variants. The remaining ones were from Innova Hycross and Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Grand Vitara (for Maruti Suzuki), as per an auto research firm.
“Demand for diesel variants persists. Our endeavour has been to offer a product that meets our consumers’ requirements,’’ Gulati said, adding that diesel emits less carbon than petrol.
Industry analysts say that diesel is an important powertrain option for big SUVs, however, stringent emission norms are expected to lead to a decline in diesel variant numbers.
“We expect the Indian market to move to EVs (electric vehicles), hybrids (cars that run on a combo of battery and petrol power), and CNG-powered vehicles in the coming years. The waiting period for hybrid vehicles indicates the growing consumer preference for this technology,“ said Gaurav Vangaal, Associate Director, S&P Global Mobility (an auto analytics and ratings firm).
Asked about the company’s collaboration with Maruti Suzuki for its EV roadmap, Gulati said that even though TKM has the technical expertise to venture into EVs, the commercial rollout of battery-run cars will be contingent on multiple factors like consumer acceptance, the supplier ecosystem, etc.
Gulati added that the company was evaluating technologies like flex-fuel vehicles (cars that can run on petrol and ethanol-blended petrol) , Plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell EVs, etc.
“While Suzuki is known for its strength in manufacturing mid and small size cars, Toyota is known for its prowess in EVs. So, the endeavour of this alliance is the widespread adoption of EV models. For which we need to scale the local manufacture of EV components,” said Atul Sood, Vice President of Sales and Strategic Marketing, TKM.
TKM , which registered sales of 1,60,352 units in CY 2022 has reported a growth of 42 percent in the first five months of 2023 (January-May), by selling 82,763 units compared to of 58,505 units sold in the same period last year. While the company didn’t share the sales target for this year, it did indicate that the growth will be in double digits.
“The growth last year was due to the successful launch of the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and the Innova Hycross. Apart from a strong acceptance of our newly-launched products, macroeconomic factors like GDP growth, growth in rural markets, etc, will also boost demand for passenger vehicles. Our market outlook for the year is most bullish,” added Sood.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
