Exclusive: Toyota pulls diesel Innova out of Indian market due to likely emission issue

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) made a public announcement on August 30 that it had stopped taking fresh orders for the Innova diesel under the pretext of a ‘very high demand’ situation for the diesel version of the Innova. However, the reality is that TKM could be in an even tougher spot.

Autocar Professional has learnt from reliable sources that the Innova diesel has failed the latest round of Conformity of Production (COP) tests for emissions conducted by the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), for its diesel engine variants.

Sources tell us that not one or two, but all 32 car samples that can be submitted by an OEM from its mass-production batches to test agencies, have failed to meet the BS VI emission requirements during the COP testing carried out a few weeks ago. A stream of Innovas steadily coming to ICAT were seen.

COP tests are conducted by government designated testing and validation agencies like ICAT and ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) every six months on all models in the market to ensure that even after their initial homologation, mass-produced models continue consistently adhere to the emission regulations. Failure to pass the COP test results in the manufacturer being asked to immediately stop production of the offending model.

Autocar Professional reached out to TKM and specifically asked if production of the Innova diesel had stopped. Atul Sood, associate vice-president, Sales and Strategic Marketing, TKM, replied in an email response, “We continue to produce the Innova Crysta at our plant in Bidadi, Karnataka” but he didn’t specifically say if production of the diesel-powered Crysta had stopped. The petrol Crysta continues to be produced and in fact the company has just launched the Innova Crysta Limited Edition, based on the GX petrol.

TKM also reiterated its stand that bookings for the diesel Innova have temporarily been put on hold. “Due to very high demand pattern, which has resulted in an increased waiting period for the diesel variant of Innova Crysta, TKM has decided to temporarily stop taking orders for the diesel variant. As a customer centric company, we are making efforts to supply the vehicles to customers who have already made bookings with our dealers. However, we will continue to take orders for the Petrol variant of Innova Crysta,” said the company’s press statement.

However, sources within the supplier industry and dealer community suggest that production of the diesel Innova has indeed stopped. “We have been told by Toyota that production of the diesel has been stopped but is likely to restart in March 2023,” said a key supplier to Toyota on condition of anonymity. This also suggests that the existing Innova will continue alongside the all-new Innova (code 560B), which will be powered by petrol and petrol-hybrid options (no diesel) and is expected by the end of this year. The diesel Innova is a bread-and-butter model for Toyota and also a breadwinner for fleet owners and hence it is unlikely that it will be phased out anytime soon.

Toyota has stopped taking bookings for the diesel variants of the Innova Crysta. On August 30, it issued a statement citing a “very high demand pattern, which has resulted in an increased waiting period.”

While TKM remains tightlipped about the entire situation, the series of events over the last few weeks has sparked speculation in the market, especially among awaiting and potential customers as well as its own dealer partners who are now a worried lot.

A dealer representative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that they had been unofficially informed by the company that production of the diesel Crysta had stopped, the reason being the prevalent Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE-2) norms that have warranted a shift in mix away from diesels. But with diesel engines offering far superior fuel efficiency compared to petrol counterparts, this rationale seems to defy logic and dealers are left dissatisfied with TKM’s lack of a proper explanation.

Dealer sources have further revealed that the existing stock might only last another month and most showrooms are looking at exhausting inventories of the diesel Crysta well before the festive season, which again suggests production has stopped. The company, however, is likely to fulfill all bookings for the diesel variants received until early August within the stipulated delivery time. However, customers who were able to book one anytime later last month, will see deliveries being pushed further, possibly into the next calendar year. It is learnt that customers are also being offered a full refund of their booking amount due to likely unavailability of diesel cars, and many are also being pushed by dealers to opt for the petrol variants.

The reasons behind the supposed failure of the COP test are not clear but experts suggest that it could be due to the failure of some component. “An ethical company like Toyota would never do anything deliberate to dodge emissions. This issue seems to be more because of some component failure or manufacturing variance that has caused emissions to spike above the limits,” said an industry veteran.

While TKM verbally told us that any reports of the Innova diesel failing the COP test are “fake,” in a formal email response the company was less emphatic. When asked a pointed question asking if the Innova diesel faced an emission issue in the latest COP test, the answer was an evasive “All Toyota models, including the Innova Crysta continue to meet all regulatory requirements consistently.” And those regulatory requirements also mean stopping production of any model that doesn’t pass the COP test!

All the facts behind TKM’s abrupt move to pull the Innova diesel out of the market just before the festive season, may not be known but what’s for sure is that it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the company.

What is a COP Test?
The COP or Conformity of Production test is a periodic test conducted every six months by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) located in Pune or ICAT in Manesar, at regular intervals. In this test, the vehicle should conform with regard to components affecting the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants by the engine, emissions from the crankcase as well as evaporative emissions, to the vehicle model type approved.

In this test, vehicles are selected at random in the series and are tested for multiple parameters. A lot of three vehicles is summoned by the test agencies for conducting the test procedures, and even if a particular lot fails to conform to the standards, the carmaker can immediately send another three-car lot for retesting, up to a maximum of 32 vehicles from the running mass-production batches. Upon repetitive failure, carmakers are given some time to present their explanations before the authorities. 

While the COP test protocols in India are exactly the same as in Europe, the difference lies in self-regulation which is practiced by OEMs overseas, compared to the testing conducted by external agencies in India.