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Toyota to build new combustion engine-only supermini

Toyota has released plans for an upcoming supermini model which will be offered solely with combustion engines.

It bucks the trend for electrified powertrains, with Toyota believing that retaining a combustion engine makes the car ‘more accessible to customers’.

Sitting on the firm’s GA-B platform – which also underpins the larger Yaris – the new car could take over from the current Aygo which stands as Toyota’s most compact model.

There’s a good chance that the 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine which powers the current Yaris will be used in this new car, offered with the choice of either a five-speed manual or CVT automatic gearbox.

The new model will increase European annual production of cars underpinned by the GA-B platform to 500,000 units, which Toyota says will secure ‘valuable economy of scale’.

Toyota Yaris
The Yaris uses the same platform as the upcoming supermini

It’ll be the third car to use the platform, following on from the regular Yaris and upcoming Yaris Cross, which is scheduled to launch later next year.

Though the Toyota Aygo sits on the same platform as both the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108, there aren’t any plans for new versions of the latter two cars. Though this new model’s combustion engine-only option means that it’ll likely produce more CO2, Toyota’s extensive range of hybrids and electric cars – including the Prius and RAV4 – mean that it can introduce a petrol-only car without getting too close to company-wide emissions regulations.