March 28, 2024

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Toyota models 2020-2030 – Part 2 | Automotive Industry Analysis

2021 Camry gains a new front end (XLE shown)

2021 Camry gains a new front end (XLE shown)

The first of a pair of features which break down the next generations of many Toyota models was published recently. After looking at EVs, MPVs/Minivans and Crossovers/SUVs, the spotlight now turns on cars and pick-ups.

Cars

There’s likely to be only more year of production for the Glanza, a Suzuki-based small car which is mainly for India. With looks which are just about identical to those of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, this five-door hatchback went on sale in June 2019. There are two 1.2-litre petrol engine choices, both of them compliant with India’s BS6 regulations. Three months later, Toyota announced that the model would also be available in 47 African nations, starting with South Africa, where it is sold as the Starlet. A new Glanza should be revealed in either late 2021 or early 2022, shortly after the arrival of the next Baleno.

The fourth generation of Toyota’s small five-door hatchback for Asia, Europe and some other regions, coded 865A, was announced to the media in October 2019, roughly a month before its public premiere at the Tokyo motor show. One major change was the standardisation of the Yaris name, ‘Vitz’ being dropped in Japan for this generation. Sales commenced there in February. Toyota Motor Europe began selling the car from August, which was a month after production commenced in France. Next year, we’ll also see a Mazda based on the Yaris Hybrid produced at TMMF’s Onnaing (Valenciennes) plant.

The Yaris is sold mainly with a 1.5-litre petrol-electric powertrain, although 1KR 1.0-litre and M15A 1.5-litre petrol engines are also available in certain countries. The 1.0-litre cars are front-wheel drive but those powered by a M15A engine can be ordered with all-wheel drive, in Japan at least.

Build should eventually be at the same locations as generation three – i.e. France, Thailand, Japan, China and India. The new car was the first model for the B segment version of the TNGA global architecture. That’s also the reason why the Hybrid can be specified with electric all-wheel drive, which was not possible with the previous Yaris/Vitz.

The first facelift should be in 2023 with a second one possible in 2025 ahead of a replacement in 2027/2028.

The GR Yaris, a rally-inspired sports car, made its world debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January. It is powered by G16E-GTS, a 200 kW (272 PS) 1,618 cc three-cylinder engine. Drive goes to all wheels. The Gazoo Racing Yaris has a three-door body, a 2,558 mm wheelbase and is built on a special line at TMC’s Motomachi plant. The Japanese market range line-up was announced in June, three months in advance of the commencement of sales. There, the trim levels are called RS, RZ and RC. The car is also sold in Australia and certain European markets but not in North America.

Meanwhile, the Yaris for the USA and Canada had been different to the model sold in Asia, Europe and other regions. In fact it is not even a Toyota, being a version of the Mazda2 which the company manufactures in Mexico. The situation was complicated though: in Mexico, the range differs to what it had offered in Canada and the USA. The Yaris was phased out in those two markets at the end of the 2020 model year, having been available for only a little over twelve months.

North America’s Mazda2-based Yaris (sedan) and Yaris Liftback (five-door hatchback) were new for the 2020 model year in the US and Canada, the second of the pair making its debut at the New York auto show in April 2019. They arrived in US dealerships from September 2019 and were low-volume models, each available solely with a 106hp 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine linked to a standard six-speed automatic transmission.

The Mazda2 sedan-based Yaris continues to be sold in Mexico. There it is sold alongside other, older cars which use the Yaris name so it is known as the Yaris R. Due to its age, the R will likely be discontinued in CY2022.

It was once a major model series but no longer: the fifth generation Prius is due to appear in late 2021, with the Prius PHEV to follow in 2022. Both should use an evolution of TNGA-K, the lightweight platform used for the fourth generation cars. A six-year life cycle can be expected, which means a facelift in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Georgetown commenced series production of the Camry 9 in June 2017. TMMK (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.) is the largest manufacturing plant in Toyota’s worldwide network. The site has an annual capacity of 550,000 vehicles and 600,000 engines.

Toyota Motor Sales USA announced the availability of all-wheel drive for the Camry (and Avalon) a year ago this month. The larger of the two cars didn’t gain the AWD option until recently though (2021 model year) while the AWD Camry had been new for 2020. The main news for MY2021 is a facelift (see pic). Generation 10 should be on sale in three years’ time for MY2024.

The GR 86 should be revealed in the coming days, Subaru having stated that it will be pulling the covers off the BRZ replacement on Wednesday. The 2.4-litre flat four which powers the Subaru Ascent should be under the bonnet of both, while a 1.8-litre H4 turbo could also, or instead feature.

According to an allegedly leaked Toyota USA document, the Gazoo Racing 86 will be powered by a ‘255 horsepower’ engine and launched in that country in summer 2021. Expect an eight-year life cycle, which means a facelift at the half way point of 2025.

The Crown Concept which debuted at the Tokyo motor show in October 2017 was a preview of the fifteenth generation Crown. The production model was announced by Toyota in June 2018.

There are three powertrains for the Japanese market:

  • 8AR-FTS, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol unit with an eight-speed gearbox and rear-wheel drive
  • A25A-FXS, 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid Dynamic Force Engine, RWD or AWD
  • 8GR-FXS, 3.5-litre V6 hybrid, RWD

A revised interior was announced in October but there was no facelift: that happens in 2021. Reports have emerged in recent days claiming that TMC might take the radical step of evolving the next generation due in 2024 into an SUV. The Crown model name dates to 1955.

Pick-ups

The eighth generation Hilux/HiLux is now five years old and selling strongly. There may well be a third round of engine and styling revisions in 2023, before the next generation model arrives in 2026. The mid-2020 facelift might instead have been the final one, in which case, a new Hilux could appear in 2023. A hybrid powertrain is also expected.

With the exception of Mexico, the Tacoma is the alternative to the Hilux for North America. The current one had its global debut at the Detroit auto show in January 2015. The standard engine is a 2.7-litre four-cylinder with a 3.5-litre Atkinson Cycle V6 also available.

A facelifted Tacoma – updated for the 2020 model year – premiered at the Chicago auto show in February 2019. No other styling adjustments are expected, with the next generation model (920B) due in 2024. It will share the TNGA-F platform (for Frame, and also known internally as ‘F1’) with the Tundra.

The current Tundra has been in production since January 2007 so next year’s replacement will be welcomed by dealers with open arms sore from years and years of waiting. In addition to a new frame (TNGA-F) architecture, there will be fresh engines and a hybrid option. There have been claims that a Cummins V8 diesel will be available too. The engine specialist supplied Nissan with a 5.0-litre V8 for the Titan until CY2019. There is presently no (gasoline) V6 engine in the Tundra, the former one having been discontinued at the end of the model year. That should change when the new model arrives.

Toyota announced an investment at its San Antonio plant which manufactures the Tundra and Tacoma in September 2019. The media release did not name the model(s) that this cash injection would partly pay for. It is assumed that they will be the next generations of these trucks though. The new model is set for a sales launch in the fourth quarter of 2021. Build may endure for a full decade, which would mean no facelift until the 2027 model year. At that point, if not sooner, a Tundra BEV should appear.

Reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.

Future platform intelligence

More detail on past, current and forthcoming models can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of GlobalData’s Automotive Intelligence Center. That includes multiple other Toyota vehicles not covered in this feature and the previous one.

This is a second feature of a series which highlights selected current and future models from TMC’s passenger vehicle divisions. The first chapter concentrated on Toyota’s crossovers, SUVs, MPVs/minivans and EVs. Next comes a look at Daihatsu and Perodua, followed by the final part, which will have Lexus as its focus.