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Aygo green: Toyota plans small hybrids

STUTTGART, Germany -  Toyota plans to extend hybrid power throughout its range, right down to its smallest city car, the Aygo.

The announcement was made by development chief Mitsuhisa Kato in an interview with the German magazine Auto Motor and Sport.

Petrol-battery versions of its Prius and Yaris are already available but the automaker's city cars have so far not benefited from its "green" technology. Kato explained: "Our goal is to offer a hybrid in all segments but we must get costs down to put this technology into the smallest cars."

HYBRID OVER BATTERY

Kato is convinced that hybrids, a combination of combustion engine and battery/motor, were more likely to prevail than all-electric cars or those powered by electricity from hydrogen-producing fuel-cells.

"For most applications the hybrid drivetrain is best," he insisted. "Whenever we manage to increase the efficiency ofindividual components of our hybrid systems we see knock-on benefits in the field of electric cars and those powered by conventional internal combustion engines."

Toyota's Prius spearheaded consumer acceptance of petrol-electric cars and its global popularity helped to popularise the term "hybrid".

Toyota South Africa told Wheels24 the fourth-generation Prius would arrive late 2015 or early 2016.

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