IT’S PETROL ONLY!
BUCKING the trend for electric or hybrid vehicles, Toyota’s next-generation Aygo city car will run on petrol only. With just about every new car seeming to be battery powered these days, the Japanese car firm is bravely putting out a nippy little budget runaround operating on unleaded — expected to cost from under £12,000.
Economics are behind the move. Small electric cars may please ministers and politicians, but unfortunately they are more expensive to produce than petrol vehicles, say car manufacturers.
So Toyota — which already has a frugal 1-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine in its current Aygo range capable of up to 68.9mpg — is producing what is expected to be an even leaner iteration. Aygos sell around the world. So even when the Westminster ban on pure petrol and diesel vehicles kicks in from 2030, there will still be markets elsewhere. The car also plugs a big gap for customers who cannot afford an electric car or who don’t have the facilities to charge one at home — many people still do not have on-street parking with charging points nearby.
Then there is another factor: the feeling of many drivers on a budget that they are being bullied by privileged and highlypaid ministers into switching to an electric car.
The original Aygo was built in partnership with PeugeotCitroen’s PSA group (now part of the Stellantis empire) with Peugeot making the 108 and Citroen the C1 — all at the same factory in the Czech Republic.
But the French are now bowing out, leaving Toyota with total control of Aygo-only production at the factory. The model shown here, in two-tone ‘sparkling chilli red’ and black, is a near production-ready version called the Aygo X Prologue.
The final production version will be launched later this year before going on sale early 2022 priced at between £11,500 and £15,000, depending on trim, with the ‘sweet spot’ around £12,500.