Yaris-Based Hybrid, More Efficient Than the Prius

Toyota is one of the many automakers that are doing big efforts to upgrade its product range and make it more fuel efficient and the number of hybrids to be launched in the near future do nothing more but to confirm this. As you know, the Japanese manufacturer is currently developing a Yaris-based hybrid that might be produced in Europe and sold in most markets around the world.

But according to the latest rumors, the upcoming hybrid will be more fuel efficient than the Prius, a.k.a. Toyota's flagship product which currently fights with Honda's Insight for the supremacy of the hybrid sector.

According to a report by just-auto.com citing the Yomiuri newspaper, the Yaris-based model will cover around 40 kilometers with a single liter of gas (2.5 l/100 km or 94 mpg), compared to 38 kilometers per liter (2.63 l/100km or 89.4 mpg). Additionally, the car will be cheaper than Toyota's existing hybrids, which make it the preferred solution for most consumers across Japan, Europe or the US who are looking for green cars.

"We are developing a low-priced hybrid vehicle like Honda's Insight," Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of the redesigned, third-generation Toyota Prius, said back in March. "We are going to compete by expanding our hybrid-vehicle lineup to smaller hybrids, in the class of the Vitz and Yaris," he said without providing details on the official launch date.

The Yaris-based hybrid might be manufactured in France and is expected to be released next year in Japan. If we trust the current rumors, the car will be offered with a price tag of 1.5 million yen ($15,760).