Hybrid

Toyota appears to be making progress on its new pint-sized SUV based on the next generation Yaris, if these spy photos taken during winter testing are a guide. It's unlikely the new model will share the same body as this Toyota Yaris with raised suspension and bolder bodywork (as pictured above). Rather this test car is simply being used as an elaborate disguise before the SUV-bodied mules are built.

English sports car – and more recently, electric hypercar – maker Lotus is looking to build a new hybridised V6 model in the spirit of its classic Esprit, according to AutoCar. Expected to debut in the first half of 2021, the unnamed model will be built on the same extruded aluminium chassis underpinning as the current Evora, and will be the last Lotus to use the manufacturing technique before all models move to a brand new rivet-bonded chassis.

Toyota has plans to increase its electric vehicle production capacity by constructing a ¥8.5 billion (AU$1.84 billion) electric car plant in China. According to a report from Reuters, the plant – which should see a production output of 200,000 ‘new energy vehicles’ yearly – is set to be built in the Tianjin municipality in collaboration with Toyota’s local partner, FAW Group.

The Volkswagen Group is on the lookout for a young climate change campaigner to “aggressively” aid and facilitate the marque’s environmental initiatives, as reported by the Financial Times. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess believes the company is hindered by internal bureaucracy and is slow to react in the shift towards electric vehicles. “We have so many ideas,” Mr Diess said. “But they take too long to implement in our big organisation, so I need someone really aggressive internally.”