Toyota bringing world-first ethanol hybrid car to Brazil

Toyota has announced its plan to send the world's first ethanol hybrid vehicle to the Brazilian market.

The prototype of Toyota's ethanol hybrid vehicle posted on Toyota's official website. [Photo: toyota.co]

The flexible-fuel hybrid will combine an engine that can run on both gasoline and ethanol and an electrical power train, the first ever in the global market.

The carmaker says the hybrid flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) is expected to contribute to the environment by reducing CO2 emissions.

Toyota is planning to invest 1 billion Brazilian reais (about 255 million U.S. dollars) to guarantee the launch of the ethanol hybrid in 2019.

The prototype of Toyota's ethanol hybrid vehicle posted on Toyota's official website. [Photo: toyota.co]

Toyota revealed a prototype of the new hybrid in March in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Steve St. Angelo, the carmaker's CEO for Latin American, and the Caribbean, and its chairman in Brazil, said last month that the new hybrid had exceeded all the manufacturers' expectations.

Brazil is the second largest producer of ethanol fuel in the world, following the United States.