ISLAMABAD: A delegation from Indus Motor Company, led by Vice Chairman Shinji Yanagi and Chief Executive Ali Asghar Jamali, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday at the PM’s Office to showcase the first locally-manufactured Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV).

Also participating in the meeting was Yoshiki Konishi, President, Toyota Asia, who is also the Chief Engineer of the Corolla Cross. Mitsuhiro Wada, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, also graced the occasion alongwith Members of the Cabinet, including Federal Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar and Federal Minister of Industries & Production, Makhdoom Murtaza Mehmood.

The PM commended Toyota’s initiative in bringing the first locally-manufactured Hybrid SUV to Pakistan and emphasised the need to further localisation efforts in the country as well as focus on exports.

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He further assured to uphold the incentives for HEVs as outlined in the AIDEP 2021-26 Policy.

Federal Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar also appreciated the Corolla Cross Hybrid and the benefits the country would derive from the new technology both economically and environmentally.

Toyota Asia’s President Yoshiki Konishi said: “For over 30 years, Toyota has contributed to Pakistan, thanks to the support of the government and people of Pakistan. I feel the Corolla, a product that is dear to my heart, has become Pakistan’s “people’s car” in terms of brand and meets Toyota’s vision of “Mobility for All”.

“With the launch of the new Corolla Cross HEV, we strongly believe that this HEV technology will become a solution that can gain scale and allow for accessible electrification in Pakistan, as it uses a relatively small battery and requires no additional infrastructure. It has also been proven to reduce Carbon Emissions and Improve Fuel Consumption by 30 – 50% based on research by external agencies in several countries.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023