Toyota launches prototype of world’s first hybrid flexible-fuel vehicle

In Brazil, a prototype of the world’s first hybrid flexible-fuel vehicle (Hybrid FFV), debuted in an event Toyota held Monday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Stakeholders including the state government, universities, and the sugarcane association (the Sugarcane Industry Union: UNICA) attended the event. The prototype is the combination of a flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) that can be powered by both gasoline and alternative fuels such as ethanol, and Toyota’s famous hybrid system which combines a combustion engine and an electrical powertrain.

Hybrid FFV is a new powertrain system that Toyota is developing with an aim to popularize Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Brazil and contribute to the environment through reduction of CO2 emissions. Hybrid FFV has the potential to drastically reduce total CO2 emissions as it is built on Toyota’s hybrid system that has high energy efficiency and low emission levels and it also leverages the CO2 reabsorption capacity of ethanol, a plant-derived 100% renewable fuel. The prototype uses the Toyota Prius as a base model, which is currently sold and becoming popular in Brazil.