Toyota Urban SUV will be built in India for global markets; debut next year.
Toyota has released first set of images and details of its future small EV SUV in concept form. Called the Toyota Urban SUV concept, this new SUV is the sister-model to the Maruti Suzuki eVX EV SUV. Both models are expected to see a global debut in production form later this year.
- Toyota Urban SUV to be made in India
- Will sit on 27PL skateboard platform
- Will be built alongside the Maruti eVX
Toyota Urban SUV to have a lot in common with Maruti eVX
As reported by us earlier, both models will have a lot in common in order to facilitate greater economies of scale. This commonality will not be confined just to the platform and mechanicals but also on the exterior looks, interior bits.
Along with revealing the exterior in concept form, Toyota has announced that more details of this EV SUV will be revealed early next year. The brand for now has revealed dimensions of the evX sibling. It measures 4300mm in length, 1,820mm in width and is 1620mm high which is quite identical to the Maruti eVX that has the same length but is 20 mm shorter in width and height. Both models are expected to have 2,700mm wheelbase thanks to the born-EV skateboard platform, which will help liberate cabin room. The eVX-based SUV will also have plush interiors and a decent list of creature comforts, safety features and tech.
As far as styling goes, the Toyota version that has been revealed today gets its own identity upfront along with some design differences, similar to what we see on the Grand Vitara and Hyryder.
Looking at the Toyota Urban SUV concept’s exterior, the front styling gets Toyota family design cues with C-Shaped headlamps and much cleaner and minimalist look for the front bumper. On the sides, the angular wheel arch design with cladding around it, is quite identical to the eVX concept. The doors and glass house seems to have a common design too with the door handle for the rear door placed on the C-pillar. At the back, there are subtle differences on the rear bumper and tailgate but the overall look is unmistakably similar to the Maruti evX. While the interior for the Toyota Urban SUV concept has not been revealed yet, Suzuki did give us a closer look at the eVX’s interior and it will be safe to expect similar looks for the Toyota version as well.
Toyota Urban SUV: platform and powertrain
Just like the eVX, the Urban SUV from Toyota will sit on the 27PL skateboard platform that will be heavily localized and will be built in India at Suzuki’s Gujarat facility both export and the domestic market. This plant has a target to manufacture over 1.25 lakh vehicles annually, as revealed by us last year.
There are two range options expected with one the higher variant offering around 400km plus range. Toyota says that the SUV will have FWD and dual-motor AWD options too for some markets.
Toyota Urban SUV: launch timeline
The SUV in its production form, will be Toyota’s entry-point in its EV SUV line-up in markets like Europe among others. Toyota has said it is readying three EV SUVs for Europe and the made-in-India Urban SUV will be one of them. Two more EV SUVs, the Sport Crossover and the Compact Crossover are being readied by the brand for the European market.
For India, expect Toyota to introduce the Urban SUV in our market a few months after its Maruti sibling the production spec eVX hits the showrooms, sometime early next year.
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