Cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Prius

Toyota's Prius contender

In less than 2 weeks Toyota will use the 2010 North American International Auto Show to debut a new dedicated hybrid that will probably be cheaper and more fuel efficient than the current Prius.

While Toyota has only officially released a few teaser shots of the headlight, for instance, it's obvious from the pictures that Toyota's next hybrid will be a small hybrid.

Likewise, over the weekend The Japan Times broke a story about Toyota's plans to produce hybrid vehicles based of its Vitz class - think Yaris in the US - at a new assembly plant in Miyagi Prefecture in 2011. According to the story the new hybrid will be cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Prius.

Cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Prius? That already sounds like a potential hit for today's economic-minded consumer. Moreover, the Vitz class offers Toyota a nice hybrid entry point for many other world markets.