Toyota Kirloskar launches its first luxury MPV New Vellfire at Rs 79 lakh

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (KTM) on Wednesday launched Toyota's global luxury MPV (mini van) New Vellfire at an introductory price of Rs 79.5 lakh in India. Having sold six lakh units globally, this self-charging hybrid electric vehicle is KTM's first luxury offering with one more likely launch in the line-up some time later.

The company said the first three shipments totaling 180 units have already been sold and new prospective buyers will have to wait for the delivery from April onwards. It has termed Vellfire as a strong hybrid capable of running 40 per cent distance and 60 per cent of time on electric or zero emission mode with the engine turned off. 

Making a strong case for hybrid mobility technology as the most environmentally sustainable alternative to the conventional as well as pure electric vehicles, KTM vice chairman Vikram Kirloskar said the company's overall aim was to bring a behavioral change in favour of lower carbon emissions.

Equipped with a 2.5 litre gasoline hybrid engine and coupled with dual motors, the New Vellfire Hybrid delivers optimum performance and super fuel efficiency at 16.35 km, according to the company. While the luxury car market in India went through ups and downs last year, the company believes that the Vellfire would keep attracting those who are willing to pay for vehicle of this price range as it fills certain available gaps in this segment. The company chose Hyderabad for the national launch of New Vellfire as more than 20 percent of the total bookings came from the city.

Speaking on the occasion, KTM managing director Masakazu Yoshimura said the faster adoption of environmentally sustainable vehicles will be driven by technologies using energy mix such as hybrids, rather than pure EVs.

Toyota Kirloskar senior vice president-sales Naveen Soni said self-charging hybrid vehicles are the most suited technology model for Indian conditions even though the relevance of various technology options including pure EVs and plug-in hybrids will largely depend on the driving needs, according to him.

Responding to a question on the adoption of BS-VI emission norms, Soni said all the Toyota showrooms are currently displaying only BS-VI vehicles and even then the waiting period for vehicle delivery stands at over a month. "This indicates a smooth transition as far as BS-VI adoption is concerned," he said.