Toyota Urban Cruiser Ebella launched

Toyota Kirloskar Motor today unveiled their first battery-electric vehicle in India the Urban Cruiser Ebella. While the manufacturer did not give out the ex-showroom prices of the car, they said that bookings are open at showrooms with an initial booking amount of INR 20,000.

The carmaker has also said that they will launch a ‘Battery as a Service’ model where the initial cost of the vehicle will be even lower. The Ebella shares its platform with the Maruti-Suzuki e VITARA which was launched last month, however Toyota has given the car an unique ‘Hammerhead’ design. Internal components including the battery and motor are however shared.

Some minor changes to the interiors such as a new JBL audio system are also there. There are two battery options of 49 kilowatt hour and 61 kilowatt hour, the latter having a certified range of 543 kilometers with a motor developing 128 kilowatts (172 horsepower). The Ebella, which is manufactured at Maruti-Suzuki’s Hansalpur plant in Gujarat, will also be exported to markets in Europe from India.

Speaking with the media at the launch, Vikram Gulati, Executive Vice-President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said that the Ebella is part of Toyota’s strategy of having multi-pathways towards carbon neutrality for the automotive sector. “We have been supportive of the Government’s ethanol-blending program which has saved the government foreign exchange and benefitted farmers.

We are bringing in strong hybrids that can run on flex-fuels which will have a higher proportion of ethanol and there is also the green hydrogen program. Battery electric vehicles will also play a role in this shift, that is why we have vehicles across different formats.”