Toyota officials have announced they're working on a Toyota Yaris hybrid to take on the new Honda Insight hybrid for cheap hybrid supremacy. Muscle Car Wars? Ha! Let the Hybrid Car Wars begin.
According to Automotive News and Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Toyota chief engineer Akihiko Otsuka has confirmed there's a Yaris Hybrid being developed for sale in Japan and the United States.
Toyota has been seeing tough competition from the equally egg-shaped Prius price-undercutting Honda Insight. The new car would wear a version of the Hybrid Synergy Drive and target the low end of the market, with a target price even lower than the Insight's $19,800 starting price. No timeline has been announced, but expect the Yaris Hybrid to be unveiled with the next generation of the bowler hat-shaped micro car for 2011. [Auto News Sub. Req.]