The information comes from the Nikkei, which also reports that the new model will be produced at a plant in Fukuoka and could potentially sell up to 100,000 units per year. The new car will be bigger and more powerful than the Prius, and will likely feature an engine displacing between 2.0 and 2.5L. According to the newspaper, a re-skinned and re-badged version of this car will be sold as a Lexus.
The Fukuoka plant is currently used to build hybrid versions of the Toyota Harrier and Lexus RX, as well as the Highlander (Kluger), but given the declining sales of the SUV models Toyota is looking at making adjustments to the factory to support more fuel-efficient hybrids.