We all got rather excited when the GR Yaris arrived, thanks to its rally pedigree and immense performance, and it’s easy to forget there’s a regular version of the supermini for people who like driving more slowly. The regular Yaris has been around for about a year and Mazda loves it so much they want to whack their badge on it and sell it as the new Mazda 2.
Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Toyota has a technical partnership with Mazda, spanning projects such as electric car development to the US-spec Yaris, which was based on the Mazda 2.
According to Autocar, Mazda wants to use the European-spec Toyota Yaris as the basis of its new 2 supermini. More specifically, it’s keen on using the hybrid underpinnings of the latest Yaris, which includes a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that’s hooked up to an 79bhp electric motor for a combined output of 114bhp. And, yes, power is sent to the front wheels through a CVT gearbox.
A technical tie-up wouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Emission laws in Europe are becoming evermore stringent and manufacturers are racing to electrify their existing line-up to comply with the rules. For Mazda, it could prove to be cheaper to simply share the Yaris platform than develop its own hybrid system for the new Mazda 2.
Of course, we need to take this story with a pinch of salt. Neither company has confirmed that the new 2 will twin-up with the Yaris. While Mazda would not confirm reports, it told Autocar that the Yaris hybrid architecture was “the optimum solution to respond to each region’s needs and requirements.”
Make of that what you will.
Keyword: Mazda to use Toyota Yaris hybrid for next supermini