GST Kills Toyota Camry Hybrid In India

Steep GST cess is the prime reason for the sudden drop in demands for the hybrid model

Toyota India has temporarily pulled the plug on the production of its luxury hybrid sedan, the Camry, owing to its plunging sales. Since the time GST came into effect, sales of hybrid vehicles have considerably gone down. The Toyota Camry incurs 28 per cent GST and 15 per cent luxury car cess, making it costlier by a whopping Rs 6 lakh, to Rs 38 lakh. Earlier, the difference between the prices of petrol and hybrid Camrys was a mere Rs 1.3 lakh, which has now gone up to Rs 7.5 lakh. Citing aggressive tax norms and infrastructure issues, the Japanese carmaker has made it clear that it won’t be launching any new hybrid/electric vehicles in India.

Last month, the sales of the Toyota Camry dropped by a massive 73 per cent, to a mere 32 units. The carmaker was selling close to 110 units a month until the time the GST came into the scene. Since then, sales have witnessed constant downfall, forcing the carmaker to halt its production. Have a look at the Camry’s sales figures in 2017:

The new tax regime is a setback for Toyota as it had invested a total of Rs 39 crore in the country specifically for the Camry hybrid – Rs 15 crore on its production plant and remaining amount on its training, marketing and service. The Indian arm has said that given the punitive tax norms here, it won’t be able to press for further investment from its headquarters in Japan.

Powered by a 2.5-litre petrol engine paired to an electric motor, the Camry hybrid pumps out max power of 205PS and 213Nm of peak torque. It’s mated to an E-CVT transmission. The Toyota hybrid sedan rivals the Skoda Superb, Honda Accord and the Volkswagen Passat.

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