Toyota prepares new hybrid with best mileage in the world

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to roll out as early as December 2011 a hybrid subcompact car with the highest fuel efficiency of any mass-produced, fuel-powered vehicle in the world, sources said.

The planned hybrid hatchback is capable of running about 43 kilometers per liter, over 10 percent more efficient than the automaker's Prius hybrid, whose mileage is currently the top ranked, at 38 kpl, the sources said.

The new vehicle uses the chassis of a Vitz subcompact car and the same type of nickel-metal hydride battery used in the Prius.

But the new compact car will run on an 1,500cc engine, much smaller than the 1,800cc engine in the Prius hybrid, to reduce weight and increase fuel efficiency.

The expected price tag for the vehicle is around 1.5 million yen ($17,000), sources said.

In keeping pace in the competition to produce smaller and more fuel-efficient hybrids for the expanding market, Honda Motor Co. this autumn plans to add a hybrid version to the popular Fit subcompact passenger cars, which will likely cover 30 km per liter.

Honda now sells more than 10,000 conventional Fits a month.

The automaker plans to price the new car hundreds of thousands of yen lower than the 1.89-million-yen starting price for Honda's existing Insight line of hybrids.

Although pioneer Toyota had dominated the hybrid vehicle market, Honda made its presence known when it introduced its second-generation Insight in February 2009.

Now, the two companies are competing over smaller hybrid vehicles.

Japanese automakers are also battling to improve fuel efficiency in their new gasoline-powered models.

Toyota's new Vitz, expected to hit the market in December, is expected to have the same mileage level as Nissan's new March, which boasts a fuel efficiency of 26 kpl.