Toyota plans ultra-fuel-efficient hybrid

Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to release as early as 2011 a small hybrid car with a fuel-efficiency of 40 kilometers per liter (kpl) with a price tag of 1.5 million yen (US$16,725). The “ultra-fuel-efficient” car will surpass in terms of fuel efficiency the latest model of Toyota’s top hybrid car, the Prius, which can achieve 38 kpl. The envisaged model will be the world’s most fuel-efficient mass-produced hybrid car, whose main power source is gasoline. Toyota wants to attract consumers who are conscious of energy-saving products and leave behind its rival, Honda Motor Co., in hybrid car sales. Toyota plans to sell the ultra-fuel-efficient car in Japan, the United States and Europe. (August 14, 2009)