The future of the Toyota Avensis is in doubt after the automaker's Europe boss said the mid-sized model would be excluded from the company's plan to offer hybrid versions of every model sold in the region by 2020.
"Do we plan to introduce an Avensis hybrid? No," Didier Leroy told Automotive News Europe. "Do we have a plan to introduce in the next five to seven years a hybrid model in the mid-sized segment? The answer is clearly, yes."
Leroy said the question Toyota has to determine is whether it should develop a Europe-specific sedan and wagon like the Avensis, which is only produced at the automaker's UK plant, or offer a much more global product.
"It's very tough to be in the mid-sized segment in Europe," Leroy said.
In western Europe the volume mid-sized segment is on track to have its lowest sales this decade, dropping below a half-million units this year from more than 800,000 in 2011, according to IHS Automotive, as customers switch to premium rivals or hot-selling volume crossovers.
europe.autonews.com/article/20140619/ANE/140619865...d
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