Toyota is aiming to launch a new hybrid car in 2011 that will get better gas mileage than its best-selling Prius hybrid, according to news reports Thursday.

AFP reported that the new hybrid will be based on Toyota's subcompact Vitz (known as the Yaris hatchback in the United States) and sell for about 1.5 million yen ($15,600). AFP cited the Japanese Yomiuri newspaper, which it said did not cite sources for the information.

The new hybrid is expected to get more than 40 kilometers per liter (94 miles per gallon), compared to a 38 kilometer-per liter (89 miles per gallon) rating for the most recent model of the Prius in Japan, AFP reported.

Of course, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn't give the Prius such high mileage ratings as does Japan. EPA's methodology puts the 2010 Prius' mileage at  51 miles per gallon in city driving and 48 miles per gallon in highway driving.

Gas mileage for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles has been a topic of some interest in recent days, after General Motors claimed its upcoming plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt would get 230 miles per gallon in city driving under a new EPA standard - a claim EPA was quick to say it could not back.

Toyota is expected to bring its own plug-in version of the Prius to market in 2012, Reuters reported last month.