The spectacular journey of Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s very popular MPV, Innova Crysta in the Indian market is now at its final stage. India, Indonesia and the Philippines are among the few global markets where the old Innova Crysta is still being sold alongside the new Innova HighCross. According to the information, 2026 will be the last full year for the sale of this old and reliable model in India, after which the company can say goodbye to it.
Entry in the Indian market was made in the year 2016, now in the beginning of next year there may be a complete stop forever.
Toyota globally introduced the Innova Crysta in 2015, which was the second generation of the Innova series. It was launched in India in 2016. Initially the company offered Innova Crysta in both petrol and diesel engine options as well as manual and automatic transmissions. However, even before the arrival of the third generation model ‘Innova High Cross’, the company had discontinued the option of petrol engine and automatic gearbox. Currently, the vehicle is primarily available for fleet operators and taxi segment, with a 2.4-litre turbocharged diesel engine and a 5-speed manual transmission.
Due to strict emission norms and CAFE 3 norms coming into effect from April 2027, upgrading diesel engines is no longer a profitable deal.
The existing 2.4-litre diesel engine of the Innova Crysta was initially BS-IV compliant, which was later upgraded by the company to BS-VI Phase-1 and Phase-2 emission norms. But now the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) 3 norms, which will be implemented from April 2027, have put immense pressure on automakers to increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The Innova Crysta’s heavy ladder-frame structure and diesel engine are not compatible with these new stringent regulations. In such a situation, the company has no practical option left except to close it by the beginning of 2027.
There was a plan to close it earlier also, but due to problems in the supply chain of the hybrid model and constant demand, the period got extended.
Toyota had planned to remove Innova Crysta from the market much earlier. But, due to its continuous demand among customers and problems in the supply chain of parts of the new Innova HighCross, the company had decided to continue selling it. However, now considering the strictness of the rules, its closure is considered certain. Currently, the price of Innova Crysta starts from Rs 18,65,700 and goes up to Rs 25,36,200 (ex-showroom).
The challenge will be to make the hybrid variant of Innova High Cross affordable, so that Crysta customers can shift to the new option.
Retaining customers after the closure of Innova Crysta will be a challenge for the company. Currently, the petrol variant of Innova Highcross ranges between Rs 18.05 lakh to Rs 20.35 lakh, but its hybrid variant is quite expensive, the price of which starts from Rs 25.90 lakh and goes up to Rs 31.89 lakh. Market experts believe that when Toyota discontinues the old diesel model, it will need to make the Innova HighCross Hybrid more affordable to maintain demand.
