Report: Toyota has no plans to build a hybrid car in France
By Andrew C., 26 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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Toyota firmly denies reports that it will build a hybrid car at its Valenciennes plant in northern France. A French business newspaper, La Tribune, supposedly got this news tidbit from unnamed sources. The Valenciennes plant produces the Yaris subcompact, the automaker's best-selling car in Europe. Toyota spokesman, Yuta Kaga, said that the company has no such plans and that it isn´t even considering the move. Kaga added that Toyota has not made a decision on whether it will launch a hybrid model in France. Toyota engineers and executives have said the company was working on creating a compact hybrid model for launch in the next few years as it aims to add the hybrid option on its entire lineup by around 2020. Last month, Toyota said it would begin production of its first European-built hybrid car, the Auris hybrid hatchback, in England in mid-2010. What makes the denials more unlikely is that while many markets in Europe -- notably France -- heavily favor diesel cars over gasoline-electric hybrids, Toyota said in June that it would alter its strategy in Europe to focus more on hybrids.
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