Toyota is reportedly working on a small car for India and it could carry an electric powertrain while an all-new MPV could slot between Ertiga and Innova Crysta
The two Japanese carmakers Suzuki and Toyota are involved in a partnership with mutual benefits by taking advantage of each other’s strengths in a number of departments. It holds significance not just for the global markets but also India. Last year, Toyota’s domestic product range was expanded courtesy of the Glanza, the rebadged Baleno.
Just a few months ago, the Urban Cruiser came to the fore under the badge swapping exercise and both are doing a handy job for Toyota in sales as only Innova Crysta and Fortuner are its popular models locally through the years and BSVI emission regulations led to a number of discontinuations. Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are long reported to be working on a mid-size SUV based on the Toyota Raize’s platform.
It could some into fruition sometime next year and unlike the badge engineered aforementioned models, they will likely be developed pertaining to each brand’s preferences and they will share platform and components to reduce the production costs. They will compete against the host of mid-size SUVs like Hyundai Creta, Kia Sonet, Nissan Kicks, Tata Harrier, MG Hector, etc.
In a recent report emerged on the Internet, Toyota is said to be developing a small car internally codenamed 560B and is expected to be launched towards the end of this year or in the early stages of 2022. It could be a budget-friendly mass-market focused electric vehicle.
The report further said that Toyota is working on a MPV that will be slotted between the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Toyota Innova Crysta. Thus, it could be directly rival the Mahindra Marazzo. It is said to be an all-new model and won’t be a badge engineering product. It could be introduced in the second quarter of next year.
Maruti Suzuki has often been spotted testing the second generation Celerio over the last few months and it could be next in line for launch. The Indo-Japanese manufacturer looks to be working on the next generation Alto as well based on a new platform.