Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 9) - The third generation Toyota Prius hybrid will be making its Chinese debut on February 22, wccdaily.com.cn reported today.

The new Prius (pictured) is built an entirely new platform and is equipped with a brand new drive system. The car now sports a 1.8 L gasoline engine instead of the 1.5 L one used in the second generation Prius. It also makes use of Dual VVT-i technology developed by Toyota. The VVT-i technology helps cut emissions considerably, meaning that the new 1.8 L-powered Prius has the same fuel consumption rate over 100 km as its predecessor. The car also has solar panels on the roof, which helps further increase efficiency.

It is unknown how much the Prius will be priced when it comes to China. The Lexus CT 200h is priced starting at 279,000 yuan ($44,386), while the second generation Prius was market at 282,200 yuan ($35,047) when it hit the Chinese market in 2006. FAW Toyota has been very tight-lipped about pricing information.

Despite being ahead of the field technologically, the second generation Prius fared poorly in China. Less than 20 of them were sold before production was halted.