India's EV push not answer to pollution: Toyota

Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman and wholetime director at Toyota Kirloksar Motor, said consumers should be given freedom to make a logical choice, and manufacturers enough leeway so that they can produce what the consumer wants.

Viswanathan said the government's ambitious target of all-electric fleet from 2030 is "not practical, and it's not the way forward".

He also argued that EVs alone are not the best answer to curb vehicular pollution.

Customers who have a certain distance to travel every day will choose electric, and those who don't have a fixed schedule, may choose hybrid, according to him.

"In time to come, others may choose hydrogen because there is zero pollution in hydrogen vehicles. So, I think the government has to recognise this, be technology-agnostic, and encourage all techologies and fix the tax rates accordingly," he said in an interview to PTI.

"All technolgies must be encouraged because no body knows which technology is going to succeed," Viswanathan said.

Technologies which generate more pollution have to be discouraged through suitable fiscal dis-incentives, while those which minimise the amount of pollution should be encouraged by way of fiscal incentives.

"I don't think electric vehicles is the immediate answer. Yes, there will be a certain percentage of vehicle population which will have electric, but we still have to rely on internal combustion engine, hydrogen vehicles and hybrid vehicles for the remainder," Viswanathan said.

Asked if India should avoid rushing into an era of EVs, he said, "If that's what the consumer wants, the rush will happen on commercial terms but if you (Government) mandate that I will give huge tax incentive for electric but I will penalise hybrid which is very friendly in terms of pollution levels, then it's not a level playing field."