Mazda and Toyota have reached an agreement on the supply under license of the hybrid technology that is currently used in the Prius. The merger means a new hybrid Mazda vehicle should be with us by 2013. The hybrid system will be coupled with the still in development 'SKY' engines.

In an effort to adhere to the current eco-friendly trend in the motor industry, Mazda is also aiming to improve average fuel economy by 30 percent before 2015. The enhancements to achieve this reduction will be accomplished by updating the core aspects of its vehicles, such as engines, transmissions and weight reduction, along with regenerative braking, idling stop and the hybrid systems.

Mazda will be hoping that its hybrid vehicle will be able to ride off the sales success of the Toyota Prius, which since its introduction in 1997 has been delivered to 2.3 million customers.

Lee Pickering - 29 Mar 2010