Toyota is thinking about adding two small models to its U.S. lineup as part of its efforts to meet the 35 mpg CAFE standard by the 2020 deadline, reports Automotive News. The two vehicles under consideration are a production version of the A-BAT hybrid concept truck it showed in January at the Detroit Auto Show and the Urban Cruiser, a subcompact crossover that is making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Urban Cruiser is in many ways a lifted variant of the Scion xD and is smaller than the first-generation Toyota RAV4, while the A-BAT concept could be fitted onto a shortened version of the platform that underpins the Toyota Camry and Highlander.
According to Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. president Jim Letnz, there is room for both vehicles in the Japanese auotmaker's lineup, either as a Scion or a Toyota. He also added that neither has been approved for U.S. sale, which perhaps hints that the A-BAT is already on the path to production elsewhere in the world.
What do you think? Are the Toyota Urban Cruiser and A-BAT the right vehicles to help Toyota meet the 35 mpg target? And will it be enough for automakers to merely increase the numbers of fuel-efficient cars they make to meet that number, or will some gas guzzlers have to go the way of the dinosaur, regardless of how many small cars they sell?