Toyota Might Try On Mid-size Pants With Rush SUV and Avanza MPV For 2020 In India

• Both vehicles will be based on a monocoque platform to make them lighter and more fuel-efficient than the Innova and Fortuner.
• The SUV is likely to be the international-market Rush, may be offered with 7 seats.
• 7-seater Avanza likely to be the MPV.
• BS6-compliant 1.5-litre petrol engine to power both vehicles.

Toyota has been tight-lipped about upcoming vehicles, whether it’s the Daihatsu Rocky-based Raize (aka Rise) compact SUV or the upcoming Corolla hybrid. But the SUV segment is growing rapidly in India and has a quarter of India’s car market share now. According to a news report, Toyota will bring in a monocoque SUV and an MPV based on the same platform, which will sit lower than the Fortuner and Innova, respectively. The latter is likely to be the Avanza sold in other markets. The SUV, which may be the international-market Rush, will be priced between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, with the MPV likely to be less expensive. The sources also claim that the upcoming SUV will compete with the Jeep Compass. Launch timelines are currently unknown. 

The Rush SUV has long been speculated for an India launch. Looking like a shrunken Fortuner, the Rush is a five-seater SUV which may be available with seven seats. The engine is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with DOHC called the 2NR-VE. It makes 105PS of power and 136Nm of torque, mated to a 4-speed automatic. Tall and boxy, the SUV comes with 6 airbags, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, hill start assist, and active safety features like pre-collision braking and lane departure warning.  

The Toyota Innova, two decades on, is the best-selling vehicle for the company, selling thrice as many cars from March to August of 2019 as the entry-level offering, the Etios. Toyota’s offering in this segment internationally is the Avanza, a seven-seater MPV powered by the same 2NR-VE engine as the Toyota Rush. In India, the engine will be tuned to be BS6-compliant. 

A compact SUV, which will sit in the same segment as the Vitara Brezza, is also on the cards for Toyota. We are not sure if the upcoming vehicle will be a badge-engineered Maruti Suzuki or the highly anticipated Toyota Raize SUV. This vehicle is likely to be a product of the 2017 joint venture between the two companies.

It is clear that Toyota is aiming at the most rapidly growing segments in the Indian automotive market. The Avanza is likely to be priced from Rs 13 lakh to Rs 16 lakh, while the Rush is likely to be from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Since Toyota is not coming to the Auto Expo 2020, we will have to wait for the company to get back to us. 

Source: The Economic Times