The new Toyota Yaris hybrid pairs a three-cylinder engine with a lithium ion battery for the first time to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent compared with the outgoing hybrid, the automaker says.
Toyota Europe will offer its latest-generation Yaris small-segment car with gasoline and full hybrid powertrains. There will be no diesel version, as with the current model.
The new small car will initially be launched as a hybrid only, with gasoline versions arriving later, Toyota said in a news release on Wednesday. It will have its European debut at the Geneva auto show on March 3.
A 20 percent improvement over the current Yaris hybrid would reduce CO2 emissions figure to 67 grams per km, meaning its emissions would be closer to a plug-in hybrid than a standard full hybrid.
A switch to lithium-ion from nickel metal hydride has cut the battery's weight by 27 percent, Toyota said. Toyota did not give a figure for battery capacity.
The new Yaris is the first car to be built on Toyota’s new modular small-car platform, a variant of the TNGA platform that underpins the new Corolla compact and CH-R and RAV4 crossovers. The new platform, called GA-B, is said to improve handling thanks to increased rigidity and a lower center of gravity.
The platform also allows designers to create visually distinctive models with appealing proportions, Toyota said.
The styling of the new Yaris, with its prominent wheel arches and wide grille dominating the front, gives it an appealing, “ready to go” character, according to Toyota.
The new car is 5 mm shorter than the outgoing Yaris, which is 3,950 mm long. It is also 15 mm lower and 50 mm wider.