Behind The Wheel – Episode 4: How did Aygo X become a hybrid?
Ivoros has one particularity within Toyota that is the only car designed, produced and sold only in Europe. From a testing point of view, you know, we try to do all our test as well in Europe. So we can represent as much as possible the conditions our customer will face. One thing I experienced for the first time this year was actually I joined uh the winter test in north of Sweden with my more experienced colleagues uh all saying how they will name the first corner where I will go off the road on my name. So I went under a little bit of pressure but anyway the car behaves really well. Uh I always felt safe in the road. Everything went okay. Didn’t put my name in any corner which I’m very proud of. But it was uh it was honestly an experience when we start with a new vehicle concept. uh the most important input we receive is of course market feedback, customer feedback and we listen to their needs, their concerns, what they would like to have. In the case of Igoross since we launched in 2022, there were customers that were requesting immediately some electrification uh for this vehicle being a city car. One funny moment I remember from from the project was the first time I I saw a prototype. So, of course, we took a current vehicle, we took the batteries and the engine from Ayari’s vehicle and we basically fitted it to be able to test how the extra mass, how will the vehicle behave with this extra power as well that we have from the engine. It was funny. It was a little bit strange to see at first because the hybrid batteries were not under body was not fitting them. So, we actually removed the passenger seat. We fit the battery in the middle of the car. Was a little bit strange, but it was the first prototype that we made internally in R&D. But honestly gave a very good feeling from the beginning. So we were really enthusiastic about getting the first production model so we could actually test it. Our new cross hybrid is the first full hybrid in the segment and it will have the lowest CO2 of any non-plugged vehicle in the total market actually which is quite an achievement that we’re very proud of. The whole electronics of the vehicles have changed. The whole platform of the vehicle has changed. The whole driving dynamics are very different. You feel a different power. you feel a different agility, perception of the vehicle as well. Everything is very different. You know, one part of my job is to be in the car when for example executives are driving, when the media is driving, I join the events or when we start releasing the vehicle, we try to visit uh dealers to get actually feedback from customers. You know, it’s a part of the job that is very reassuring. I really like very much. You see, when you receive the feedback that a customer appreciates such a small detail, they notice something, they smile. They don’t even need to tell you. This is really reassuring because that means all the hours we did are worth customers smile, which is in the end everything that matters.
Discover the story behind the Toyota Aygo Cross Hybrid, the only Toyota designed, produced, and sold exclusively in Europe.
Get exclusive insights into its development from Cesar Romero, including winter testing in Sweden, innovative hybrid technology, and how customer feedback shaped the first full hybrid in its segment in the latest episode of our Behind The Wheel series.
