Toyota could axe Avensis model in 2018

A recent report says Toyota Avensis??™ future is in doubt.

Didier Leroy, Toyota??™s European boss, told Automotive News Europe the mid-sized car would be excluded from the company's plans to offer a hybrid version of every model sold in Europe by 2020.

"Do we plan to introduce an Avensis hybrid? No," he told the magazine. "Do we have a plan to introduce in the next five to seven years a hybrid model in the mid-sized segment? The answer is clearly, yes."

The big question for the Japanese company is whether it should develop a brand new Europe-spec sedan and station wagon as a successor for the Avensis, or offer a global product.

According to an IHS Automotive forecast, the mid-sized segment in Europe will predictably hit its lowest levels this decade with sales collapsing to under half a million units in 2014 compared to over 800,000 in 2011. The Toyota Avensis is expected to find a little more than 29,000 clients this year, down from 55,706 in 2010. The analysts expect the vehicle to be axed in 2018.