Toyota UK will begin producing hybrid versions of the Auris from 2010.

Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced it will start production of a hybrid version of its Auris hatchback in the UK from mid-2010.

The car will use engines manufactured at the Toyota plant in Deeside, Flintshire while the actual hybrid vehicles will be produced at the company’s Burnaston plant in Derbyshire.

Toyota already manufactures hybrid versions of its cars in the US and Japan but the hybrid Auris will be the first of its kind to be produced in the UK.

Toyota has capitalised on increased interest in ‘greener’ cars by producing the first mass-produced fully hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997. Earlier this month, the Prius became the first hybrid car to outsell all other vehicles in Japan.

In a statement on its website, Toyota said: “The decision to build the hybrid Auris at Toyota UK represents the first materialisation of Toyota Motor Corporation’s plan to further its business operations in Europe and distinguish itself in that market through the strengths of its hybrid technology.”

Hybrid cars use both electricity and petrol for power and are thus able to achieve a greater fuel economy than most cars.