Toyota to place the struggle to Ford in one other ute section – report

Toyota‘s HiLux and Tacoma battle the Ford Ranger whereas the burly Tundra tackles the F-150, however the Japanese big currrently has no different to the Ford Maverick.

That would change per a report from Automotive Information, which says Toyota is weighing a Corolla-based ute.

The American outlet says this automobile stays beneath dialogue, and would doubtless be constructed alongside the Corolla within the firm’s plant in Mississippi.

Ought to or not it’s accredited, it reportedly gained’t go on sale till not less than 2027.

It’s additionally unclear whether or not Toyota would export this mannequin from the US, because it does with the Kluger, or manufacture it in different crops for markets like ours.

Alternatively, it may very well be a left-hand drive unique just like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz it might ostensibly rival.

Although Corolla-derived, it appears doubtless the ute would put on a special nameplate, not like the Corolla Cross SUV.

Toyota might have a couple of sub-HiLux ute within the works.

The corporate not too long ago previewed a modular idea referred to as the IMV 0, regarded as constructed on a model of the HiLux’s ladder-frame underpinnings and that includes comparable styling to the Compact Cruiser idea.

Toyota South Africa executives additionally not too long ago spoke of an upcoming mannequin that “gained’t be a half-ton [ute]”.

“We consider it would take the market by storm and are nonetheless doing numerous improvement round it,” Leon Theron, Toyota South Africa vice chairman for gross sales and advertising, instructed South African media.

The upcoming ute will launch in 2025 or 2026, slotting in beneath the HiLux on value.

It will likely be geared toward growing markets round Africa, amongst different locations – small, inexpensive utes are in style in Latin America, the place Toyota doesn’t presently provide something smaller or cheaper than the HiLux.

The forms of mild industrial autos provided in markets like South Africa, Thailand and Latin America have typically differed through the years.

The US-built Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, for instance, aren’t offered in South Africa, whereas car-derived utes just like the smaller Latin American Chevrolet Montana and Fiat Strada have by no means been provided within the US.