Next Mazda 2 based on Toyota Yaris Hybrid – report

A version of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid could serve as the basis for the next-generation Mazda 2, reports Autocar. The forthcoming hatchback could be part of Mazda’s plan to offer an “OEM-supplied model based on Yaris THS”, referring to the Toyota Hybrid System-equipped hatchback.

“We’re continuing with our multi-solution approach that offers appropriate solutions to match power mix, uniqueness and customer needs in each country and region,” Mazda United Kingdom said in a statement to Autocar, adding that it concluded that the THS is the optimum solution for the requirements of each region.

This suggests that the next Mazda 2 will be built for Mazda by Toyota at the latter’s factory in northern France, and having a hybrid hatchback would help Mazda attain its CO2 emissions target for the European Union, the magazine observed.

“This collaboration is the result of discussions based on our Toyota-Mazda partnership policy to use both companies’ business resources efficiently, while respecting each other’s brand and management independence,” the automaker continued in its statement, though declining to comment if the future model will continue to be known as the 2.

Toyota previously stated that a THS-equipped SUV model will emerge from the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA (MTMUS) facility in Huntsville, Alabama from 2021, and is part of a business and capital alliance that was signed in 2017 between the two manufacturers.

This contrasts with the arrangement for the Yaris hatchback for the United States market, which was discontinued at the beginning of last year and was based on the Mazda 2. In addition to this, as well as the TNGA-based Yaris, there is also the Vios-based hatchback that shares the Yaris name, though the three are mechanically unrelated.

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