The Toyota Prius has created waves across the globe, becoming one of the most popular models for the environment conscious buyer. Unfortunately for Toyota, buyers in India are more cost conscious than anything else. The CBU pricing of around Rs. 35 lakhs for the Toyota Prius has resulted in not even a single unit of this hybrid vehicle getting sold last month. This is the first Toyota model in India, which hasn’t tasted success and the pricing is to blame.
However Toyota might be considering going the CKD route to reduce prices of the Prius. Avid MotorBeam reader Chandu Prasad recently spotted an on-test Prius being driven on the Outer Ring Road in Bangalore. Toyota has ample space in its factory to do limited assembly of the Prius and we feel this might happen soon. By going the CKD route, prices of the Toyota Prius can be reduced by a very good amount, resulting in more people opting for this hybrid vehicle.
Hybrid vehicles are not so popular in India due to the limited options being available. Prices of hybrid vehicles also puts it out of the reach of 95% of buyers. Honda had launched the Civic Hybrid in 2008 at a price of Rs. 21.5 lakhs (ex-showroom). The company had to reduce prices by Rs. 8 lakhs to clear stock as the demand for the vehicle was very less at that price. With the reduced prices, Honda sold 98 units of the Civic Hybrid in one day. Could Toyota create a similar magic after they start locally assembling the Prius in India?
