Toyota India head's tax sop pitch: don't make consumers pay more for cleaner vehicles
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Tax incentives for green mobility should continue for the benefit of consumers, according to the India head of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd, as the company continues to focus on electric and ethanol-powered vehicles.
"Taxes have to be linked to the societal goals, national goals... [which] right now are to move away from fossil fuel, to decarbonize and to indigenize," Vikram Gulati, country head and executive vice president at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), told Mint in an exclusive interview. “If you do not have a distinguishing taxation structure or rate differential between a petrol and a flex-fuel vehicle, inadvertently the consumer will have to pay more tax on a flex-fuel vehicle," he said.
“The first thing that needs to be done is to look at that element and make sure the consumer is not being disincentivized on a cleaner technology." Also Read | MP ideal location for Toyota to setup facility, invest in enhancing youth training: CM Mohan Yadav That will boost demand and generate higher investments to develop manufacturing at scale and lower prices, Gulati said. He cited how 5% goods and service tax (GST) on electric vehicles, compared to the 18-28% GST range on fossil fuel vehicles, has helped boost sales for the zero-emission vehicles. India sold over 1.95 million electric vehicles in 2024, about 27% more than the 1.53 million units the year before.
Toyota's cleaner vehicle offerings include the Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell car. The Japanese automaker is also planning to launch a new electric car in collaboration with compatriot Suzuki Motor Corp in India, the company had announced in October 2024. Toyota has also launched the Innova HyCross, a flex-fuel car, in
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