Toyota would very much like to be a larger force in what is now one of the world’s largest markets: India. As ever, innovative vehicles is how it could get there. One such will be a ladder-frame chassis small SUV. Back in 2021 we saw the Compact Cruiser EV concept and now patent application pictures have revealed how a larger, evolved model will look. Small windows, a pronounced dark plastic perimeter of bumpers linked to side cladding, deep ridges in the roof and a spare tyre on the side-mounted tailgate all feature.
Pairing up with the Indian market’s long-time dominant force was a smart move. One example of why will be launched in European countries during the fourth quarter. Revealed at the Brussels motor show in January, the Urban Cruiser is an electric 4.3 m long SUV for Europe supplied from Suzuki’s Hansalpur plant in Gujarat. Supplementing the Yaris Cross Hybrid, this FWD/AWD model will offer 49 kWh and 61 kWh (gross) battery options in combination with 106 kW, 128 kW and 135 kW motors.
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The next ‘FJ Cruiser’ (name TBC), on the other hand, will have as its basis the existing IMV platform. This has been around for some time and presently underpins all manner of vehicles including not only the Hilux but its Hilux Champ derivative. The future SUV should be manufactured in Thailand and/or Indonesia with India another possibility. Look to 2026 for its debut.
XA60: Toyota’s next global number one model
Images and some details of what will be Toyota Motor Corporation’s next best seller were revealed on 21 May. XA60, the next Robust Accurate Vehicle with 4 Wheel Drive, is a rebodying of the existing GA-K platform XA50. It even has the same 2,690 wheelbase. As keeps happening with many big-volume Toyotas, non-electrified powertrains are to be dropped as part of the redesign.
The new RAV4 2.5-litre HEV gets a 22.7 kWh battery and with it, the claim that range in EV mode extends to as many as one hundred kilometres. For the PHEV, add a further fifty. Existing owners will also love the expansion in boot space, claimed to be 749 litres, up from 733. There are also different front-end treatments, something which many Japanese OEMs have long given their models in the home market.
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By GlobalDataToyota Motor Sales USA says deliveries of what will be its 2026 RAV4 will start towards the end of this year. Just a few months later, an electric-only alternative will be launched, this being the C-HR. All-wheel drive will feature, along with a combined 338 hp from motors front and back, plus the same 74.7 kWh battery soon to be fitted to the 2026 bZ. That two-letter model identifier is a new name for the bZ4x, the EV also being facelifted as it reaches mid-cycle.
The curious case of the two C-HRs
For anyone wondering why TMS USA would suddenly start offering a model which has been around since 2023, that’s not the case. Revealed in March, production of this eTGNA platform vehicle will commence at Takaoka, the lead global plant, in September. The 4,521 mm long EV (with a 2,750 mm wheelbase) will wear C-HR+ badges in European markets. Why? Because the existing C-HR for the EU and EFTA markets as well as the UK is not sold in North America.
Europe’s C-HR+ will come in three forms: 123 kW motor, front-wheel drive and 57.7 kWh (gross) battery; 165 kW motor, FWD and 77 kWh battery; or 252 kW from two motors with AWD and a 77 kWh battery. The model’s life cycle should be seven years, which means a facelift in 2029.
Big SUVs for (mainly) North America
TMC’s ability to dominate is as well known as its strategy of often taking a long time to study then at last enter or create a segment. The Grand Highlander is a great example, this big SUV now being far more popular in the USA than the Highlander. A second generation due in 2027 should come with HEV and PHEV power.
Aside from the long-ago Mega Cruiser, the latest shape XK80 series Sequoia is the largest 4×4 ever produced by the firm. Fresh for the USA’s 2022 model year, it is produced in Texas and uses the GA-F ladder frame platform. The Land Cruiser, Tundra and Lexus LX are linked closely to this giant vehicle. It is due to be facelifted for MY2026 and likely for a second time in CY2028.
As the next Sequoia is probably not due until 2031 or even later, it is too early to say how it will be replaced. There may be an electric variant with generation four though this being standard seems doubtful. We may see a PHEV added to the current model within the next few years. Presently, only a biturbo 3.4-litre six-cylinder HEV powertrain features.
From a future monocoque pick-up…
Ford continues to have quite a hit on its hands with the Maverick. Honda was there first with the slightly longer Ridgeline, followed in 2021 by the Hyundai Santa Cruz. However, neither of these monocoque and FWD/AWD architecture pick-ups for mainly North America has ever sold in high volume.
Having observed the success of the far-from-little Ford in particular, Toyota is said to be readying its own competitor for all of The Americas. This should have a standard 2.5-litre gasoline-electric drive system and be between 5.0 and 5.1 metres long with a 3.3m+ wheelbase. The EPU concept from the last Tokyo motor show – an EV rather than an HEV – is thought to have been a preview of the general look and dimensions.
…to an electric Hilux…
Nowhere near the dominant model it once was in Asia-Pac, the current Hilux is a decade old. Why TMC has allowed this to happen is perplexing. Especially when the likes of the Ranger, not to mention the D-Max and BT-50 twins, have muscled in on what had once been its territory.
Toyota Australia can at least take some comfort in the RAV4 being the country’s best seller year-to-date. Yet the HiLux [sic] has fallen behind its Ford rival, with both Isuzu and Mazda’s body-on-frame pick-ups also eating the lunch of what had been the country’s long time number one vehicle.
As generation eight’s third of an unprecedented three facelifts was only announced in 2024, the next Hilux/HiLux might not arrive until 2026 or even 2027. We do at least know that an EV is coming, thanks to a statement by the president of Thai operations in March 2024. However, he did not specify which plant will build it, sources indicating that it would (also) be made in Argentina.
…and two big pick-ups for the USA
There is another pick-up around the same size as the one sold in ASEAN, Australasia, Africa and certain countries in the Americas. Yet what is there left to say about the Tacoma? Once a small pick-up, like the RAV4 it has grown and grown, as has demand. New in May 2023, this North America-specific model will be facelifted for the region’s 2028 model year, generation five then being expected to arrive in CY2031.
The Tundra does well but volume is nowhere near that of its smaller companions. Last renewed in 2021, the life cycle of this F-150 rival is tricky to forecast. Prior to the launch of the current truck, the previous Tundra stuck around for a decade and a half. Toyota will likely replace this one after between seven and ten years. Much will depend on when we see a facelift. That could be as soon as later in 2025 but might instead not happen until 2027 or even 2028.
MPVs/minivans
Is there a market for a new Previa? As TMC seems keen to revive certain old models (MR-2, Celica) even when the business case looks far from water-tight, a new generation of this MPV cannot be ruled out. Supposedly the launch could take place as soon as 2026, in Japan. There, this EV would complement the plug-in hybrid Alphard and Vellfire twins. As a Previa PHEV is also expected for some countries, the platform is said to be GA-K.
TMS USA continues to keep a presence in the full-size minivan segment, even though volume is nothing like it once had been. With GM and Ford long-gone, Chrysler, Honda and Kia soak up what must surely be juicy margins. Volkswagen will be hoping to do the same with its similarly sized (LWB only in North America) ID.Buzz.
XL40, the current, fourth generation Sienna, has been around since 2020 and so probably only now half way through what could be a decade-long production cycle. Build is at the Princeton plant (Indiana) while two derivatives for China are manufactured in Guangzhou (GAC Toyota Sienna) and Tianjin (FAW Toyota Granvia). A 2.5-litre HEV powertrain is standard for all. A facelift should be announced soon. Generation five will surely be offered as an EV though possibly not exclusively.
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