As it launches into a new era with the end of the Corolla hatchback, Toyota is aiming to cut the cost of hybrid petrol-electric technology in half in the next three years as part of plans by the Japanese car maker to launch a more cost-effective and profitable version of its highly successful Prius hybrid hatchback.
Kazuo Okamoto, head of research and development at Toyota, said the company's third generation of its hybrid system would be half the size and weight of its current version, as well as cheaper. The cost cut is particularly important as Toyota has been unable to pass the full cost of hybrid units on to consumers, hurting its profit margin.
Toyota plans to increase the sale of hybrids in Europe to meet a European Commission target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 2009. Thierry Dombreval, Toyota's European head of sales and marketing, said the company would also decide in the next 12 months whether to introduce a second small car to Europe in order to lower its average emissions, following the launch last year of the Aygo city car.
It was also confirmed by senior engineers at the Paris Motor Show that work is underway to create a hybrid version of the new Auris, the car that's set to replace the Corolla hatchback.
The new car, which looks very similar to a larger version of the Yaris in some respects, is said to be virtually identical to the final production model that will go on sale next year, apart from a few concept styling features.
While many at the show regarded the new car as a rather conservative move by Toyota - with some suggesting it had lost some of the radical lines which featured on earlier plans for the model - the interior was a source of several compliments, in particular the new central console look.
The Auris was designed at Toyota's ED2 design centre in France and was created with European motoring tastes in mind, according to Dombreval.
The engine range will be the same as the current Corolla range for the medium term, starting with a 1.4-litre petrol model. Any hybrid version will not feature until late in the new car's lifecycle. However, contrary to some reports, the Corolla name will remain, at least in Ireland.
Toyota Ireland will continue to import the current saloon version with the old name for the foreseeable future.