Wow, super sweet stuff but sure to never be seen in north america where the oil goons rule. They have bought a lot of our politicians to make sure they can sell every last gallon of their stuff, consequences be damned.
I'm saving money for a Tesla now. Goodbye combustion engine.

It seems small is the new big. I think being a diesel car, it would have really great MPG. I think the design of the car is really nice.

I think I posted a similar info-graphic in the Ford article but their goal seems to be to break "hybrid" into individual components and gradually work them into their product line: http://i.imgur.com/q48aI7a.gif
Also, some companies doing hybrid still license technology from Toyota. The Prius was launched in 1997. That makes my wonder how many of the significant patents related to it will expire in 2017 (or sooner). Toyota has something like 4000 patents related to hybrid tech.
Additionally, Alex Severinsky sued Toyota over a 1994 patent for hybrid vehicles (US5343970 related to how power delivery is balanced between ICE and electric engines) and won. Ford also licensed Severinsky's patent.
Since his patent was filed in 1992 and granted in 1994 is it now public domain? Right now hybrid still seems to be a bit of a minefield of proprietary technologies. Maybe with patents on the first couple generations of technology starting to expire more companies (like GM and Chrysler) will finally test the water.

Related to my above post it looks like Tesla just decided to open up all their patents to the public domain: http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
That's a pretty big deal.

Small is not the new big. They will never be suitable for towing, so we still need our big vehicles. Good for a first car or run-around though.

The dinosaurs still *think* they rule --- but there is historical -precedent for where that kind of thinking gets you. ;)

Small High output engines are good it is the blindingly expensive hybrid systems that is the problem.

@Chevypower I assume you are a Chevy fan, did you know the electric motor in the tiny little spark EV makes 400 lbs of torque? That's more than the 5.3L Silverado. I wouldn't be so fast to throw around the word "never".

@Daishi, I am not really a Chevy fan, I drive an F150. The 5.3 is a torqueless wonder, so not setting the bar real high. That said, 400 lb-ft is decent for a small car. What you are forgetting is that 400 lb-ft with electric does not get multiplied into much higher torque figures through a transmission. Look, I have been a fan of electric motors for over a decade, and would love for them to work. We are not there with battery technology yet, and they need transmissions to make use of that torque. Look, my point wasn't against electric motors or even the downsizing of engines, my point was that you can't downsize the vehicles and get capable towing. There is much more to towing than maximum torque output at the crank. There is safety, controllability, stability, braking, and handling. You need a strong and heavy truck with a long and wide wheel base to get that.

"never be seen in north america where the oil goons rule." BeWalt Don't be so sure, @BeWalt. Mazda has built a factory in Mexico to build the Mazda2 and its Toyota rebadged twin for the Americas. The diesel may well roll off a Mexican assembly line, joining the 2011+ Ford Fiesta, 2015+ Honda Fit, and 2015+ Volkswagen Golf.