Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is making a definitive shift towards green energy as it showcased a hybrid powertrain for its new Innova Hycross. It is also offering CNG options to its Hyryder and Glanza customers.

The Japanese giant seems to be taking a leaf from its joint venture partner Maruti Suzuki India in putting faith in CNG powertrains for its sedan and mid-SUV even as CNG prices have travelled northwards through the year.

The company has unveiled the Innova HyCross, which will have a self-charging strong hybrid electric powertrain and a gasoline powertrain. The company is not going to offer a diesel powertrain for the new Hycross, said Vikram Gulati, executive vice-president, TKM, while speaking to The Telegraph over the phone.

“We are making a shift towards sustainability as we offer the new Innova HyCross in strong hybrid and gasoline options. Some customers will continue to want diesel powertrains, for them we will produce the old Innova Crysta with a diesel engine,” said Gulati, adding the company will continue to produce the old Innova Crysta as per customer demand.

Toyota has sold a million units of the Innova from the time it started and at present sells 8,000 units per month. In the MPV segment, Innova has a 48 per cent market share.

Talking about the company’s CNG venture, Gulati said: “Post BSVI emission norms have become all important. Our customer surveys have shown that there are certain customers in the west and south India who want CNG options. As a company, we are ready to offer them that choice.”

About rising CNG prices, Gulati believes that such changes in prices are caused by geo-political concerns and will cool down with time. “Energy price fluctuations are due to particular events and are not structural in nature.”

Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “At TKM,sustainability continues to be at the core of our business and with an unprecedented increase in carbon emissions globally, we firmly believe that its high time to shift gears for a greener future.”

“In this direction, we have adopted clean and green solutions across all our operations and value chain, so that the green products that we offer to our customers are also manufactured in green factories, he said.

TKM is working toward creating a local ecosystem for green technologies not only for India but also for the world. “With the launch of the new Innova HyCross, we are redefining the paradigm and redrawing boundaries of technological and product excellence,” Kirloskar said.