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3 hit the dealerships in October Despite the fact that for over a year it was the Prius, the highest selling hybrid model in the world, that was used as a prototype in the test with this technology, Toyota in Brazil has opted for starting the commercial operation of models featuring an electric motor combined with a flex fuel model with the Corolla, the highest selling car in the Brazilian market – with more than 1 million units in the streets. The hybrid flex technology was developed by a joint effort between the engineering areas of Brazil and Japan, in a project started almost four years ago, in mid-2015. The Japanese side contributed with their knowledge of the hybrid technology, whereas the Brazilians provided mainly the knowledge of flex technology. The Prius prototype was tested in different kinds of roads and climates so as to evaluate the performance of the electric technology combined specifically with ethanol fuel. To produce the Corolla hybrid flex – the first ever hybrid model made in Brazil – of the twelfth generation of this model, the company has invested R$ 1 billion in the Indaiatuba plant; this amount would entitle it, it is assumed, to receive the benefit of the IncentivAuto, a program by the São Paulo government to stimulate the auto industry, whose regulation is about to be published. The new platform, TNGA, is the same one used in the assembly of the Prius, of the SUV compact C-HR and of the Camry sedan abroad. It is the most modern within the Toyota group in the world. Besides serving the Brazilian market, the Corolla will be exported to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Colombia, starting the first half of next year.

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