Honda and Toyota are gearing up to drive in their hybrid electric vehicles (hybrid EVs) that will compete with pure EVs from the stables of Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).
Honda will roll out a mid-sized hybrid SUV for the Indian market like it did for the City Hybrid.
Honda’s mid-sized SUV for India is likely to be sold in early 2024 and would be similar in many ways to the fifth-generation Honda City. In fact, there is buzz that Honda is working on two SUVs for the Indian market.
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| Honda Hybrid SUV may look somewhat like this. |
While the compact SUV may go on sale in a couple of years, it is believed that the Japanese car giant is also working on another five-seater mid-sized SUV that may be under development.
Codenamed 3RA, the compact SUV may hit the Indian road in the later part of 2024.
The Honda 3RA will compete with the Kia Seltos, MG Astor, Volkswagen Taigun, Hyundai Creta and Skoda Kushaq, among others.
It will also slug it out with the yet-to-be-launched Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and its sister car, the Maruti Suzuki YFG, dubbed the Vitara, after launch next month.
The upcoming Honda mid-sized SUV could be 4.3 metres long and may have some common features with the fifth-generation City.
The new City was rolled out in July 2020 and has put the sedan on a road to revival (from the SUVs, which had taken away a substantial part of the sedan market).
The 3RA may share its powertrains with the new City, which has the highly-reliable and fuel efficient i-VTEC (petrol) and i-DTEC (diesel) engines.
If the City Hybrid e:HEV is localised substantially, it could come with some amount of pricing advantage over rivals.
Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder Hybrid to roll out in August
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will begin mass production of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder from August 2022 and the roll out will be in the same month.
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| Toyota Hyryder Hybrid SUV. |
The Hyryder will be available in four variants and be powered by a 1.5-litre K15C DualJet mild-hybrid petrol and a 1.5-litre four-cylinder Atkinson Cycle TNGA hybrid petrol engine.
The mild-hybrid (neo drive) variants will come in E, S, G, and V versions while the self-charging “strong hybrid” will be available in S, G, and V variants.
The K15C mild-hybrid unit is localised to a big extent by Maruti Suzuki (which is sharing the same platform with Toyota), and hence, the entry-level Toyota Hyryder could be priced a tad below Rs 10 lakh (Rs 10,00,000).
Coming with the Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) technology, the Hyryder belts out 101 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 135 Nm of peak torque at 4,400 rpm.
It is set to be linked to a five-speed MT or a six-speed AT with paddle shifters.
However, the all-wheel drive (AWD) versions could be price around Rs 15 lakh (Rs 15,00,000).
The hybrid mill comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine with Toyota Hybrid System (THS) and has an e-drive transmission.
The self-charging strong hybrid variant offers an EV-only mode. This helps generate higher fuel efficiency and also paves the way for low emission standards.
The strong hybrid variants could cost between Rs 14 lakh (Rs 14,00,000) and Rs 19 lakh (Rs 19,00,000).
The Hyryder will come in seven single-tone and four dual-tone colours.
It would have a nine-inch touchscreen, six airbags, a 360-degree camera system, cruise control, reclining rear seats, wireless charging pad and ambient lighting, among others.
So, with Honda and Toyota gearing up to drive in their hybrid EVs that will compete with pure electric vehicles (EVs) of Tata and M&M, it could be perceived by EV buyers that opting for the hybrids would make more sense as they balance the high price of petrol and diesel with the worry over distance travelled on a single charge.
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