Toyota to start making EV parts in India, to be exported to ASEAN countries too
Sanjay · May 13, 2022 10:54 AM
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The Toyota bZ Small Crossover Concept
India will be Toyota Motor Corp's next manufacturing hub for electric vehicle (EV) parts, aimed at meeting demands in the country as well for export to Japan and some ASEAN countries.
Vikram Gulati, Executive Vice President of Toyota Kirloskar Motor - which manufactures and sells Toyota cars for India - told Reuters that the carmaker plans to start by producing e-drives or electric powertrain parts used by different electrified vehicles, including battery EVs (BEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and other hybrid models.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser, a mild-hybrid, rebadged Suzuki Vitara Brezza
The majority of this investment will be made by Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP). The latter is a joint venture of Toyota Motor Corp., Aisi Seiki Co. and Kirloskar System.
"The aspiration is to make India the manufacturing hub for cleaner technologies. This is about creating the building blocks," Gulati said, however stopping short of naming the ASEAN countries that Toyota would export these parts to.
India has the Toyota Camry Hybrid
In the meantime, Toyota's Indian operations are more focused on launching new hybrid models first, which the company believes are better suited to the country's nearer aim of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and carbon emissions.
Gulati said this move is able to address varying consumer needs and enable "a faster transition towards an electrifed future", adding that this would enable a "faster and smoother" shift for the Indian auto industry to electric-vehicle technology.
Spotted in India, the next-gen Toyota Innova is said to receive an electrified powertrain. Photo: motorbeam
This comes after the company recently announced that they will invest 48 billion rupees (~RM 2.7 billion) in India to localise its EV supply chain, in view of its broader 2050 carbon-neutrality goals.
As for country-wide goals, Prime Minster Narendra Modi's goverment is also offering various incentives to companies to further entice them to locally-produce EVs and their parts.
The full range of Toyota and Lexus' upcoming 30 EVs
On the global scale, Toyota will invest USD 70 billion (~RM 307 billion) in its EV journey, including developing 30 new EVs in the quest to be the world's largest BEV manufacturer by 2030.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
