Kiwis likely to plug into Prius

Toyota's hybrid Prius C. Photo / Supplied

Toyota New Zealand is likely to launch a plug-in hybrid city car badged the Prius C next year.

The new model will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month under its Japanese domestic market name, Aqua.

Toyota describes the Prius C five-door hatch as an affordably priced compact and lightweight hybrid. The car will go on sale in Japan next month, in the United States in January and in Australia in May/June.

Toyota NZ is known to be evaluating the Prius C but, true to form, is not saying if it will go on sale here.

The car is slightly bigger than a Yaris but packs a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, coupling an as-yet undisclosed "high-output" electric motor with a 1.5-litre petrol engine.

Toyota says the Aqua's fuel economy is outstanding, claiming less than 5 litres/100km in city driving alone - the best figures for any non-plug-in vehicle - and combined economy of 2.86 litres/100km, well under the 3.9 litres/100km of the larger Prius.

Japan's biggest carmaker is expected to confirm in Tokyo that it will enter the hydrogen age in 2015 with its fuel-cell sedan, dubbed FCV-R.

Toyota says it is a "highly practical" four-seat sedan that houses its fuel cell stack under the floor, allowing "impressive luggage space".

The company claims the hydrogen system, including a high-pressure tank to hold the hydrogen, has been improved over earlier prototypes, extending the range to 700km "or more".

Also among five cars making world debuts on the Toyota stand will be the all-electric FT-EV III, a city car based on the iQ runabout sold in Europe, Japan and the US.

Toyota says the four-seater is equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack which is good for 105km. The FT-EV III is expected to be one of two all-electric Toyotas to hit the market in 2012, the other being the electric RAV4 to be built in Canada with Tesla parts.

The production version of the rear-drive sports coupe Toyota has developed in conjunction with Subaru is also expected to be unveiled at Tokyo.

Codenamed the FT-86, it uses a Subaru boxer four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with Toyota direct-injection cylinder heads. It will be known in Australia and New Zealand as "86" - Toyota HQ in Japan registered the name for the Downunder market in June - and in North America as the FR-S Scion.

The 86 refers to the inspiration for the new coupe, a 1980s rear-drive Corolla that is highly regarded among drifting exponents in Japan.

Subaru will also reveal the production-ready BRZ - its version of the coupe - in Tokyo.