Hybrid cars set to make debut on Indian roads

HOT WHEELS: A handful of companies launched their set of green wheels at Auto Expo.

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New Delhi: Even as the entry of the Rs 1-lakh Tata Nano has raised concerns about traffic congestion and pollution, a few companies are promising greener wheels on Indian roads by end of the year.

Even as the Nano was being unveiled will much aplomb, far away from the madding crowd, there was a quiet revolution on at the Auto Expo. A handful of companies launched their set of green wheels.

Mahindra and Mahindra Managing Director Anand Mahindra says, “If we're to live up to global aspirations of Indian auto makers going global. Then we have to understand that its going to be about sustainability first and affordability not one without the other we want to be the green warriors out of India.”

Thanks to Mahindra and Mahindra and Honda - the hybrid car will finally make its debut on Indian roads. The hybrid electric vehicle is fitted with a regular internal combustion engine and an electrically powered motor, resulting in lesser fuel consumption and lower emissions. By the end of 2008 both Scorpio and the Civic hope to zip on cleaner-energy.

Mahindra and Mahindra Senior VP-R&D Arun Jaura says, “People are not just looking for the technology, they're looking for fuel economy & lower emissions In Indian roads, every 100 metres you stop that's a killer it terms of burning gas. So the market is looking for this.”

But Mahindra has taken its green drive further, by also launching a LPG variant of Scorpio and the Logan and a Bolero micro-hybrid.

These green cars hope to improve fuel efficiency by 8 per cent to 60 per cent. But lower the carbon footprint, higher the price it seems. While Scorpio Hybrid could make consumers poorer by a lakh more, the Honda civic, imported from Japan is expected to cost double.

Issues like the high price for full-blown hybrid and recharging refueling hassles means that there will be fewer takers for these vehicles this year. But automakers say they want to have a fast mover advantage in what will be the future of the Indian automobile industry.

So far Green cars in India have had a mixed response. But this isn't stopping automakers.

Mitsubishi Motors expects to launch its Elecxtic vehicle in a few years and Tata too is working on a hybrid version of Indica.

At a time when the country is seeing an explosion in cars and is still lagging on better public transport and stringent emission norms, these green wheels could well be the need of the hour.