Toyota has officially unveiled the Aqua hybrid car, also known as the Prius C, in Japan.

Toyota has officially introduced its Aqua hybrid compact car in Japan. It will be called as Prius C while making its debut in US at the Detroit International Motor Show in January. It is said to be the first spin-off of the well known brand Prius and is almost like Toyota Yaris in size. The concept of this car appeared in April at the New York Motor Show.

Today, this Aqua hybrid car will go on sale in Japan at around $21,700. The cost of the car is 22% less than the entry-level Prius. Toyota claimed that it has received 60,000 pre-orders for the car and expects around 12,000 units to get sold monthly.

Toyota Aqua uses the same 1.5-litre Toyota Hybrid System II engine that does duty on some of the recent Toyota Prius cars. The Hybrid System II engine has returned a touch over 82mpg in Japanese test, albeit it will get revised to remain between 50mpg and 60mpg for the US launch.

The performance using both engines is good as it takes 10.7 seconds to attain 100kmph. This car is expected to come to US at the Detroit International Motor Show in January and finally go on sale by June. The price though not confirmed could be around $20,000.