Yo-Auto will cut Yo-Mobile hybrid annual production in half

Yo-Auto, the Mikhail Prokhorov-owned automaker that's been making plans to build the first Russia-made hybrid car, will scale down production of its Yo-Mobile to less than half of its previous goal when the car goes live in 2015, Ria Novosti reports, citing company executive Andrei Ginzburg. The company, part of Prokhorov's Onexim Group, will make about 40,000 units a year, down from its prior target of about 90,000. There are also reports that Fiat will supply the engine for the hybrid, though Yo-Auto hasn't yet confirmed that.

The production announcement comes less than two weeks after Prokhorov showed off a pre-production version of the Yo-Mobile crossover. The model is said to have a 75-mile-per-hour top speed as well as fuel economy of 67 miles per gallon. The model's unusual setup includes a no-transmission layout and instead has a generator that feeds energy into a supercapacitor that in turn powers the car's two rear wheels. Yo-Auto first revealed details about the Yo-Mobile early last year, saying at the time that the hybrid would be able to run on both gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG). The company is planning to produce the model in St. Petersburg.