Meanwhile, Pascal Lelong, National Sales and Marketing Manager of Toyota (Mauritius) indicated that his company has already, since May, imported two hybrid Toyota cars, the Toyota Prius, which are presently on trial in Mauritius. He said two cars are being tested by technicians of the ministries of Transport and the Environment to make an exact evaluation of the impact of these cars on the local environment. “This process is important before the mother company validates the sales of these hybrid cars in Mauritius,” he says. So far, he says that the tests are reaping positive results and the project might be concluded shortly.

Lelong added that Toyota has, since the introduction of the Prius, sold one million such cars on the world market and that the company will introduce two new hybrid cars at the US 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The Prius, he added has a lower carbon emission than cars running entirely on fuel and that the great advantage of the Prius is that it shuts down the fuel engine and runs only on battery when the car is stopped in traffic jams or at traffic lights.

He explains that his company will be able to sell some 1000 hybrid cars annually in Mauritius though he said such cars will be costlier than ordinary cars.

“With rising gasoline prices as sure as death and taxes, it's time to get to know hybrid cars,” says a marketing representative from another major car importer.

He explains that the basic problem with automobile petrol engines is that, to let you blithely roar down the highway, they have to be designed for peak power demands. So, for crawling around the city, they're grossly inefficient. For waiting at red lights, they are infinitely inefficient.

He further adds that in response, hybrids use a battery-powered electric motor in low-power situations, and a gas engine in high-power situations, switching back and forth automatically. The gas engine is simply switched off at red lights, and is often designed to operate in a narrow power range when it is switched on, making it more efficient. The battery is recharged by the gas engine. Ge­ne­rators attached to the brakes can also turn some of the braking momentum (normally lost as heat) into electricity for battery charging.