In developing car markets like China and India, the short-term strategy for carmakers seems to be "small, cheap and fuel-efficient."

While the popularity of hybrids, and to some degree pure electric cars, will continue to grow in the U.S., we see small, 4-cylinder engines that deliver high MPGs at a low cost as the name of the game in most of Asia for a quite a while.

That’s the reason the Toyota Prius, which in America and Japan has been one of the most influential vehicles on the market for the better part of a decade, only came to India last year. When it did, it was priced and marketed more as a high-priced luxury car than an everyday vehicle for the country's emerging middle class.

The Toyota Etios is a low-cost model designed specifically for India. A hybrid version could bring gas-electric technology to a huge emerging auto market.

But maybe Toyota is changing its strategy on the global hybrid market. While the Prius was never expected to be major seller in India—just 80 vehicles sold in three months—a dedicated hybrid version of the Etios small car marketed specifically for that market, is apparently on the horizon. The Etios is a compact car developed by Toyota specifically for the Indian market. It’s basic transport with minimal amenities, but a price hovering around $10,000.

The price tag is a big question. If Toyota manages to bring costs down to the point that the fuel savings associated with the vehicle surpass its "hybrid premium," the Etios could be an important player. The gasoline version of the Etios is expected to sell 65,000 units next year.

While production numbers are yet to be announced, the fact that Toyota is premiering a new hybrid in India suggests that the carmaker is confident in its sales potential. Toyota is yet to announce whether the car will be available in other markets.

The prospect of a hybrid Etios is one more sign of the globalization of hybrid technology. While hybrid sales in the U.S. have temporarily dipped with the downturn in the economy, total hybrids sales around the globe have dramatically climbed during the same period, and could exceed 1 million gas-electric vehicles this year.

Inside the Toyota Etios.