Toyota Adds Night Shift for Yaris Production

Toyota Yaris is experiencing growing demand in most markets as government incentives across the globe encourage consumers to look for more efficient and smaller displacements models. As a result, the Japanese manufacturer will add a night shift at its affiliate Kanto Auto Works Iwate plant to boost production of the Yaris, officials of the company have revealed.

Offered in either 3- or 5-door bodystyles, the Yaris is offered with both diesel and gasoline engines, particularly optimized for improved fuel economy and for reduced CO2 emissions. The 1.0-liter VVTi option for example, which produces 69 horsepower and 69 lb-ft of torque, releases 127 grams of CO2 every kilometer and burns up to 6.4 liters of gasoline every 100 km (36.7 mpg) in city driving.

And Toyota wants even better fuel consumption figures from the Yaris. According to recent media reports, the Japanese manufacturer is now working on a hybrid based on Yaris that might be manufactured in France and may be launched on the Japanese market in late 2011. The car would compete with Honda's Fit/Jazz and is expected to be priced at approximately $15,760 in Japan.

Besides the Yaris hybrid, Toyota has many other green plans, some of them based on the same powertrain seen on the flagship Prius. For instance, a hybrid Auris is under development, with the Burnaston, UK plant to be in charge with the production.

"We are developing a low-priced hybrid vehicle like Honda's Insight. We are going to compete by expanding our hybrid-vehicle lineup to smaller hybrids, in the class of the Vitz and Yaris," Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of the redesigned, third-generation Toyota Prius, said while talking about Toyota's hybrid plans.