No, you don’t need to get your vision checked – the new Mazda 2 Hybrid is a Toyota Yaris with different badges.
This is the first full hybrid model sold by Mazda in Europe, and is a direct result of the EU’s strict 95g/km CO2 limit. Brands whose vehicle sales average out beyond that mark are liable for stiff fines that could run into billions of euros.
The same rule also sees Suzuki sell a rebadged version of the Corolla hybrid wagon as the Swace, and a restyled take on the RAV4 as the Across.
Mazda’s electrification efforts are so far limited to the MX-30 EV, and mild hybrid drivetrains in the 2, 3, CX-30 and CX-5, meaning it’s unable to meet the 95g/km target without pooling its emissions with Toyota.
Given the company’s first plug-in hybrid models aren’t due to go on sale across Europe until 2023, the 2 Hybrid is likely a stopgap model to see the brand through the next few years.
-
Mazda 2 Hybrid -
Toyota Yaris
Unlike some other models shared between brands — such as the Mazda BT-50 and Isuzu D-Max — differentiation between the Yaris and the 2 Hybrid starts and stops with the badges.
Up front, Mazda’s winged-M badge sits in place of the Toyota badge. If you dislike the blue badge backing on Toyota’s hybrid models, the Mazda 2 Hybrid might be your cup of tea.
Look closely at the alloy wheels and, yes, there are Mazda logos in centre there too.
At the back there’s a winged-M logo in the centre of the tailgate, and a stately Mazda 2 badge on the left. No change has been made to the Hybrid badge on the right, though, which is straight from the Toyota parts bin.
-
Mazda 2 Hybrid -
Toyota Yaris
On the inside, the only difference seems to be a Mazda badge in the centre of the steering wheel.
In some European markets, such as the UK, the Yaris-based Mazda 2 Hybrid will be sold alongside the Mazda-designed 2.
As with the Yaris, the 2 Hybrid has a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor and a battery pack.
Total power output is 85kW, and fuel economy is around 4L/100km using the WLTP testing methodology.
Like Euro-market Yaris models, the Mazda 2 Hybrid is built by Toyota at its factory in Valenciennes, France, near the border with Belgium. It seems highly unlikely the Yaris-based 2 Hybrid will be sold outside of Europe.
This isn’t the first time Toyota and Mazda have shared models, with Mazda supplying the 2 to Toyota US from 2016, which sold the sedan as the Scion iA.
When the Scion brand was axed, the Mexico-built 2 continued on sale north of the border as the Toyota Yaris iA. As buyers continued to shift to crossovers and seemed unwilling to consider any model smaller than a Corolla, the Mazda-built Yaris was axed in 2020.
The new 2 Hybrid also marks the second time Mazda has rebadged another company’s vehicle in Europe’s popular B-segment.
Between 1996 and 2002, the European 121 was a tweaked Ford Fiesta, although at least there was a new grille and tailgate garnish to stand the two models apart.
MORE: Everything Mazda 2
