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A car built at Toyota’s Derbyshire factory is being lined up as a potential patrol vehicle for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s regional police forces.

A Corolla Touring Sports, built at the Japanese car-maker’s Burnaston factory, has started a series of month-long demonstration loans with a number of forces across the country.

According to Toyota, the Corolla’s 2.0-litre self-charging hybrid powertrain has the reliability and durability that would be well-suited to the day-to-day demands placed on police vehicles.

It is also more fuel-efficient and greener than standard road cars. For example, when patrolling urban centres, it has the capacity to run on its electric power alone, with no harmful exhaust emissions.

The car also has the boot space to accommodate plenty of necessary kit.

Stuart Ferma, general manager of Toyota and Lexus Fleet, said: “The loan programme, supported by a our public sector fleet specialists, will demonstrate the performance and practicality benefits of the Corolla hybrid, and how it can help police forces reduce their fleet emissions with tried-and-tested technology.

“As a hybrid, it also provides more flexible performance compared to an all-electric vehicle and doesn’t require recharging facilities.”

Toyota has a track record in supplying vehicles to the emergency services, including previous Yaris, Corolla, Avensis and RAV4 models.