Has Toyota discontinued the Innova Diesel: Dealer staff clarifies [Video]

Over the past week, there have been multiple rumours that Toyota has discontinued the Innova Crysta Diesel, and that dealers are no longer taking bookings for the diesel variants of the MPV. Also, there’s been talk about a new petrol-hybrid powertrain replacing the diesel powered Innova Crysta. While Toyota Kirloskar Motors Limited (TKML) is yet to release official communication about the Innova Crysta’s future in India, here is a salesperson from one of Toyota’s Mumbai dealership throwing more light on the current situation.

Mohammed Nadeem, a salesperson from one of Toyota’s Mumbai dealerships, reveals that the Innova Crysta Diesel will not be produced during the months of August and September, and that Toyota dealers have received communication from the automaker about this. He goes on to say that Toyota has not revealed whether production of the Innova Crysta Diesel would restart post September.

As of now, there’s been no official communication about the Innova Crysta Diesel’s permanent discontinuation. As things stand today, production of the diesel Innova Crysta has been temporarily paused. Toyota dealers for their part continue to take bookings for the diesel Innova but are unable to give customers a delivery timeline.

Toyota will continue to build the Innova Crysta with the petrol engine. The petrol powered MPV uses a 2.7 liter-4 cylinder naturally aspirated engine with 164 Bhp of peak power and 245 Nm of peak torque. This engine is offered with 5 speed manual and 6 speed torque converter automatic gearbox options that drive the rear wheels of the MPV. Ex-showroom prices for the Toyota Innova Crysta Petrol start from Rs. 17.86 lakh for the base GX manual trim and go all the way up to Rs. 23.83 lakh for the top-end ZX automatic trim. Like its diesel sibling, the petrol Innova is available with 7 and 8 seat configurations.

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While the petrol powered Innova Crysta is very reliable, peppy and refined, its biggest downside is fuel economy. While the diesel powered Innova returns an ARAI claimed 15.6 Kmpl, the petrol powered model manages just 10 Kmpl, which is a full third lower. The petrol powered Innova Crysta is suitable only for those who have limited usage and the bulk of the Innova Crysta market – the cab operator segment – simply cannot do with a petrol powered model. The higher fuel efficiency of the diesel engine is critical for this segment, and this explains the shock after rumours about Toyota discontinuing the diesel Innova Crysta began swirling around.

Innova Crysta Hybrid coming?

Again, Toyota hasn’t revealed anything officially about the Innova Crysta getting a petrol-hybrid powertrain in the near future. Prospective buyers of the Innova Diesel will be quite excited to know that petrol-hybrids are as efficient as diesels, if not more efficient. So, Toyota introducing a petrol-hybrid powertrain in place of the diesel motor is actually a positive development. There are three main advantages 1. Excellent refinement and responsive performance 2. Diesel-like fuel efficiency and 3. Exemption from the 10 year diesel ban (better resale value, too).

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