JOHANNESBURG - There’s no denying that Toyota South Africa has been a dominant player in the large SUV space with its Fortuner, and a formidable contender in the mid-size field too with its stylish Rav4.
But the manufacturer still lacks a competitive offering at the more affordable end of the scale where the likes of Volkswagen’s T-Cross and Ford’s EcoSport rack up impressive sales figures.
But those rivals shouldn’t get too complacent because it won’t be long before Toyota sets its sights on the compact SUV segment.
When we asked a local Toyota representative whether the new Toyota Urban Cruiser was destined for local shores, we were told that the company is “studying multiple smaller-SUV options for local introduction,” although the details have not been confirmed as yet.
“As you will recall Toyota has revealed quite a few global SUV models in the past few months – and thus feasibility studies are under way to determine the best fit for our market,” the representative said.
TSA certainly has a few options to choose from
At the more affordable end of the scale is the recently revealed Urban Cruiser, which is built in India as part of a new partnership between the two Japanese carmakers, and based on Maruti Suzuki’s version of the Vitara, which is a shortened and heavily modified off spin of the global model.
A less likely, but still somewhat interesting option is the Toyota Raize that was revealed in Japan last year. It’s based on the new Daihatsu Rocky and looks like a shrunken Rav4 from some angles, although it is an unlikely option as it doesn’t appear that Toyota intends to sell it outside of Japan.
The other compact SUV that Toyota revealed recently was the Yaris Cross, which is built around Toyota’s new GA-B platform, which it shares the new European market Yaris (not sold in South Africa). However the Yaris Cross has completely unique styling that ensures it will never be mistaken for its hatch cousin out on the street.
Being aimed at the European market the Yaris Cross would certainly be more expensive than the two aforementioned options, which makes us wonder if Toyota SA isn’t perhaps concerned about it potentially cannibalising the next car on our list of possibilities.
Toyota South Africa confirmed earlier this year that it would be producing a new passenger car at its Prospecton plant near Durban from October 2021, and it is strongly rumoured that this is the recently revealed Corolla Cross, which is smaller than the Rav4 but slightly larger than the C-HR.
But could it not be the Yaris Cross that’s slated for local production?
Possible, but perhaps a bit unlikely, for two reasons. Firstly, a Toyota spokesperson hinted earlier this year that the new local build would form part of the broader Corolla strategy. And secondly, the Yaris Cross is being manufactured in Europe and as far as we know the Corolla Cross isn’t. That could make the latter a strong candidate for export, keeping in mind that European exports make sense for South African manufacturers due to a current trade deal that gives them duty-free status.
But enough speculating for now, we’ll just have to wait and see what Toyota has in store for 2021…