Toyota adds to its Prius family

At a press conference, Toyota announced its plans for annual sales of 1 million hybrids “in the next few years”, and aims to launch no fewer than eight new hybrid vehicles.

The FT-CH concept – or Future Toyota Compact Hybrid – is one of the vehicles being considered to join the Prius family.

It is intended to be a cheaper and slightly smaller hybrid, to compete with the Honda CR-Z. It’s 25cm shorter than a Prius but only slightly narrower. The FT-CH is also lighter than a Prius so it’s more fuel efficient.

Toyota’s designers say the FT-CH is fun, innovative, colourful and stylish enough to appeal to a younger, late-20s buyer. It was designed at Toyota’s facility in Nice.