Toyota has confirmed that its new minicar will be a crossover called the Aygo X. The car will be on a different platform than the current Aygo.
The Aygo X (the “X” is prounounced “cross,” Toyota Europe says) will be built at Toyota’s factory in Kolin, Czech Republic. The plant had been a joint venture between Toyota and PSA Group, and most recently built the Aygo, the Citroen C1 and the Peugeot 108 minicars.
Toyota assumed control of the factory on Jan. 1 and retooled it to build the Yaris small car and now the Aygo X on the GA-B platform. The PSA variants are being discontinued.
The Aygo X was shown in concept form as the Aygo X Prologue in March, but its official name was not revealed.
The concept is 3700 mm (146 inches) long, just 5 mm longer than the current Aygo hatchback, but it has greater ground clearance and SUV design cues such as skid plates, roof bars and black wheel-well trim. Toyota described the crossover as "unique" to the minicar segment.
It was designed at the ED2 studio in Sophia Antipolis, near Nice, France. Toyota said the Aygo X is the “first model change planned, developed, designed and produced in Europe at Toyota Motor Europe’s development center.”
In a news release on Tuesday, Toyota did not give details about the Aygo X’s powertrain or launch date, although the production version will be shown in the beginning of November.
Previously the automaker said there would be an internal combustion version to keep the car affordable in the price-sensitive minicar segment.
A hybrid version is also possible, as the Aygo is on the same platform as the Yaris and Yaris Cross, both of which have full-hybrid variants.
Expanded crossover/SUV lineup Toyota has doubled its volume crossover/SUV offerings in Europe in the past year with the Aygo X and the small Yaris Cross, which join the compact CH-R crossover coupe and the RAV4 SUV in the brand’s lineup. It also sells the body-on-frame Land Cruiser.
Matthew Harrison, the CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said in a recent interview with Automotive News Europe that the Aygo X and Yaris Cross, as new models, were key to Toyota’s growth plans.
The automaker has revised its 2021 sales target for the Europe region (which includes Russia, Turkey, Israel and Eurasia) to 1.2 million from 1.1 million earlier in the year, and for 2025 is now expecting 1.5 million sales, up from 1.4 million.
Most of that growth will come from the Yaris Cross, but Toyota is hoping that the Aygo X, with its crossover styling and now fewer competitors in the segment, will also gain sales as well as market share.
The minicar segment has shrunk in recent years, with Citroen and Peugeot exiting the market. It has been dominated by the Fiat Panda and Fiat 500, which finished first and second in the segment in 2020 with 144,348 and 137,265 sales, respectively, according to figures from JATO Dynamics.
The Aygo was in third place with a volume of 83,277. It was followed by the the Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Up, and Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto.
One possible direct competitor to the Aygo X is the Suzuki Ignis, which has a high stance and is available with four-wheel drive.
L’erede della Aygo sarà presentata a novembre, il pianale sarà quello della Yaris quindi sarà più grande dell’attuale. Sarà una pseudo crossover.
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