Toyota is to begin producing a hybrid version of its Yaris model as of next year, news agency Reuters reports this morning.
A petrol-electric version of the popular supermini model is thought to be set for production at the carmaker’s factory in France from April next year, the news agency says, quoting a Japanese economist newspaper source.
The hybrid Yaris, called Vitz in Japan will retail in Europe and will become the third car in Toyota’s hybrid line-up. The rumoured plans sit well with announcements the carmaker has previously made, stating that it intends to offer hybrid versions of all its established models by around 2020. The first embodiment of this plan came earlier this year, in the release of the Auris HSD, which went on sale in the UK in July.
Toyota has yet to confirm whether Reuters sources are correct, but France’s La Tribune newspaper ran a similar story suggesting that a small hybrid car is planned for production at the carmaker’s Valenciennes factory, which builds the Yaris supermini.
