Toyota aims for 8% share of key segment with Yaris-based small SUV

Toyota aims to win an 8 percent share of Europe's small SUV market in Europe with its new Yaris Cross.

The Yaris Cross will go on sale next year and its launch will mark Toyota's entry into the booming small SUV segment, which last year accounted for more than 2 million sales in Europe, according to data from JATO Dynamics.

The small SUV will be built for European markets at Toyota's factory in Valenciennes, France, at a rate of 150,000 unit a year, Toyota said on Thursday. The Yaris small hatchback is produced at the plant. The Yaris Cross will also be sold in Japan and Australia, with production for those markets coming from Japan.

The Yaris Cross is based on the same version of the company’s TNGA global platform as the latest-generation Yaris.

The Yaris Cross will be available initially as a gasoline-electric full hybrid using the same drivetrain as the Yaris hybrid, which is based around a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine for a combined power output in the Cross of 116 hp.

A conventional 1.5-liter gasoline engine version will also be offered in some markets. "Some markets we expect to be exclusively hybrid, other hybrids may offer a gasoline engine," a Toyota spokesman said.

The Yaris Cross will offer front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive that electrically sends power to the rear axle under acceleration or in moments of low grip. The awd version uses a more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension while the fwd model has a beam rear suspension.

Toyota said the hybrid will have CO2 emissions of under 90 grams per km for the front-wheel-drive model and below 100g/km for the awd version under NEDC tests. Those figures increase under the WLTP cycle to below 120g/km and below 135g/km, Toyota said.

The Yaris Cross is 240mm longer than the Yaris at 4180mm. It is also 90mm taller, 20mm wider and rides 30mm higher. The wheelbase length is the same at 2560mm, with the extra length coming from the longer overhangs front and rear.

The SUV's design blends cues from the Yaris hatchback with those from Toyota's larger SUVs such as the angular RAV4.

Toyota says the car is a diamond shape seen from the top with a wider middle, which allowed the designers to broaden the wheel arches for a tougher look. At the rear the Yaris Cross blends the rear screen into the taillights to make a link to the similar design of the Yaris, but with a squarer tailgate.

The dashboard design is broadly in line with the Yaris, using same raised touchscreen. The rear seats split 40:20:40 to help stow longer items while keeping the rear seat useability.

The trunk floor is spilt with a false floor to separate luggage. Access to the trunk is made easier with an optional electric liftgate that can be operated hands-free by using your foot to trigger a sensor.

The Yaris Cross and Yaris both use the GA-B version of the TNGA platform which is said to improve handling ability thanks to increased rigidity and a lower center of gravity. It can accommodate two different types of rear suspension -- a cheaper torsion beam or a more sophisticated multi-link set-up, depending on the vehicle type.

Toyota staged an online reveal of the Yaris Cross on Thursday after postponing its planned debut at the Geneva auto show in March when the show was canceled due to the coronavirus.

The automaker's ambitions for an 8 percent share of the small SUV segment would put the Yaris Cross in fifth place in the sales chart for the segment based on 2019 figures.

The segment is led by the Renault Captur followed by the Dacia Duster, Volkswagen T-Roc and Peugeot 2008. Toyota's larger CH-R was sixth in the compact SUV segment for 2019 with sales of 121,095, according to JATO Dynamics figures.