Toyota’s next-generation Aygo may be offered solely as an electric model, Auto Express reports.
Although the existing Aygo shares most of its components with the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1, the new model may go down a different route by adopting an electric powertrain targeted towards city buyers.
According to the firm’s European president and chief executive Johan van Zyl, the Aygo is the perfect candidate for such a drivetrain.
“We already have some electric vehicles undergoing trials here in Europe – short-range, inner-city transport. So I think that in the future, if you look at that spectrum of technologies that we offer, then EVs will be part of that.
“Will people use vehicles which will completely emissions-free in certain areas? We see a stronger growth of that type of thinking in cities where they’re saying, ‘We’d rather have emissions-free vehicles so it should be a plug-in or a pure-electric vehicle,” he said.
Toyota’s European head of research and development Gerald Killman went one step further by revealing that the brand is developing an electric Aygo.
“Timing-wise, when it makes sense is something that we need to review, so normal people can afford it. We are being careful with it, but yes, we are developing it,” he said.
The current Aygo is offered with a tiny 1.0-liter engine delivering 69 hp but capable of up to 74 mpg in the UK. Considering the vehicle’s tiny overall size and its focus on efficiency rather than performance, an electric replacement makes perfect sense.
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