Some cars pay the price for success - and even though the Toyota Prius has earned worldwide recognition and broken down boundaries for green cars, it has obtained something of a ‘fuddy duddy’ image.
However, Toyota has plans to change all that with the next generation of the sought-after model, which will retain the petrol hybrid concept but be cleaner and a lot more stylish than its predecessor.
Speaking about the plans for the vehicle, Toyota GM managing director Miguel Fonseca said: “It will be cleaner, with CO2 emissions below 100g/km. We could have gone lower, but instead we have chosen to give the Prius better performance.”
There are no plans however, for a diesel hybrid. Even though numerous competitors have gone down that route, Toyota believes that the high price of diesel compared to petrol models means it makes little sense to switch to the fossil fuel.
While the future is bright for Toyota, it clearly has a strong present too - which it celebrated with the launch of the new Avensis in Paris, a competitor for the likes of the Ford Mondeo, Citroen C5 and Vauxhall Insignia. However, according to Toyota Motor Europe chief operating officer Thierry Dombreval, the emphasis is on the environment with the car’s CO2 emissions starting at just 134g/km.
“We have set ourselves a full-year sales goal of 115,000 cars, believing this is the most appropriate target for the current market conditions,” he said.
Both four-door and five-door estate versions of the Avensis have been revealed along with a new version of the Toyota iQ city car, which should be launched by the end of 2009.
TME President Tadashi Arashima said: “This unprecedented product offensive enables us to revamp our entire engine and transmission line-up by 2010. Our new line-up is the most appropriate response to the challenges we face today.”
