Geneva preview: Toyota Auris will be company's first Euro-built hybrid

We saw the concept version of Toyota's Auris hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall. The production version – which uses 19 percent less fuel and spits out 17 percent less CO2 than the standard Auris – will bow at the Geneva Motor Show in just a few weeks, part of the company's push to diversity its European model mix to include more hybrids. Toyota has said it wants to boost global hybrid sales to the million-per-year level as soon as possible. We don't know what the final efficiency numbers will be, but the current Optimal Drive Auris uses a 1.33-liter dual VVT-i engine that emits 135 grams of CO2 per kilometer and gets 40.5 miles per gallon (U.S.) on the European combined cycle.

The Auris hybrid will be built in the UK and should be ready for sale across Europe this summer. The Auris' engines will be built at a Toyota plant in Deeside, North Wales. The Auris is Toyota's first hybrid to be made in Europe.

[Source: Automotive News]