Into Toyota’s Plans To Dominate India's Hybrid Car Market
India is fast-transitioning toward cleaner mobility and hybrids play a big role in it. They have managed to comfortably position themselves between conventional internal combustion vehicles and EVs, excelling with practicality in the process. Toyota continues to rule the hybrid space. Nearly 78% of the total hybrid vehicles sold in India are Toyotas. The Japanese carmaker will only increase its focus on hybrids in the coming months. Here’s a closer look at its plans.
Toyota is known to be working on a three-row version of the Hyryder. The Hyryder, first launched in late 2022, still continues to be a popular choice among strong hybrid buyers. A seven seater based on it, would appeal to buyers looking for a fuel-efficient, practical three-row SUV, which isn’t too expensive.
Spy shots reveal that this SUV will have a longer wheelbase and overall length than the five-seater. It will likely use the same 1.5L mild hybrid petrol and 1.5L strong hybrid petrol powertrains. Higher trims will also come with All Wheel Drive (AWD) technology.
Toyota intends to revive one of its most iconic nameplates in India, in the coming years, although in a completely new form. The ‘Corolla’ is set to return as a three-row SUV, and will be called the Corolla Cross when launched. We expect it to launch in the 2028-29 window. We have always known Corolla as a sedan but changing market trends have pushed Toyota to rethink its approach. The project is internally called 340D.
Toyota wanted to ensure that the model would be both technically viable and commercially successful before committing to production. It will have a strong hybrid powertrain. With hybrid adoption increasing steadily, the 340D project is now back on track, supported by an investment of around Rs 3,300 crore.
When launched, the Corolla Cross will be manufactured at the company’s Bidadi plant. It will have high localisation gone into it. A large portion of its components, including the hybrid system is expected to be produced/ sourced locally. This will help in keeping costs competitive.
Globally, the Corolla Cross is available as a five-seater. In India, however, it will come as a seven-seater. The wheelbase is likely to be increased by around 150mm, for this. The engineering complexity involved in this is reportedly delaying the launch.
The Corolla Cross will be underpinned by the TNGA-C platform- the same that forms the base of the Hycross. The SUV is expected to feature the same 2.0-litre strong hybrid powertrain as the Hycross, which is known for its fuel-efficient nature. In Toyota’s SUV lineup, the Corolla Cross will sit between the Hyryder and the full-size Fortuner.
In the Indian market, it will tivakl the likes of Tata Safari, Mahindra XUV 7XO and the upcoming SUVs from Hyundai and Kia (Sorento). This segment can be highly rewarding if the product is well-packaged and offers good value.
The Innova Hycross has strong footholds in both private and fleet segments, and contributes nearly half of all hybrid sales- 49.7% to be precise. Toyota’s reliable strong hybrid technology and the early mover advantage have helped it achieve this edge over rivals. The Hycross was first launched in 2022, with the option of a 2.0L strong hybrid petrol powertrain.
This setup has an ARAI-certified mileage of 23.24kpl. We expect the carmaker to roll out a facelift on this MPV sometime this year. More importantly, the Hycross will get lower-spec strong hybrid variants that would serve as fuel efficient alternatives to the diesel-powered Innova Crysta when the latter gets phased out around March 2027. These would lose some equipment but keep the fuel efficient strong hybrid powertrain.
Toyota also has plans of going big on flex fuel vehicles. In the coming years, it will introduce the flex-fuel version of the Innova Hycross. A prototype of this was first showcased in 2023. In the future, we would also see flex fuel hybrids based on the Hycross. These would excel with their fuel efficiencies. The flex fuel hybrid technology would eventually be brought to models like the Hyryder.
In short, Toyota seems to have a smart, well-designed plan to grow its hybrid dominance further in the country.