Toyota Mulls New Compact Crossover

Published on November 27, 2013 in News by Gilles Olivier
Toyota Auris (Euro model)

The compact crossover niche will be making way for a host of new models, including some which are considered luxury vehicles.

The current list in the North American market is short and includes the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax, Kia Soul, Nissan Juke, Suzuki SX4 and the Toyota Matrix.

Ford, Honda and Mazda will eventually join the EcoSport, Vezel and CX -3, respectively . Even luxury brands such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz have their nose in the door with the Q3 and GLA.

Toyota’s Turn

Although not confirmed, Toyota will likely be introducing another crossover apart from the aging Matrix. It would be developed on the Toyota New Global Architecture (tnga) platform currently being used for the development of the 4th generation Toyota Prius.

The new vehicle would be part of the Prius family, and be driven by a combustion motor with hybrid technology.

Confirmed or not, Toyota has no choice but to offer a small crossover given the popularity of the segment.