Toyota has become the first mainstream car manufacturer to launch an all-new model during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Japanese brand has today revealed a funky new high-riding – dinky – hybrid SUV called the Yaris Cross, which is due to go head-to-head with the likes of Ford’s Puma and the Nissan Juke.
The news of a new model comes as UK car dealers were told they can sell motors to customers as well as deliver them, as long as the Government’s strict guidelines on social distancing are upheld.
Lockdown SUV: Toyota is the first mainstream car maker to launch an all-new model during the Covid-19 restrictions in Europe. It today unveiled the Yaris Cross
New car showrooms were forced to close temporarily from23 March when Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the shutdown of non-essential businesses to prevent the spread of the killer virus.
Dealerships were forced to close their doors to customers and shifting their operations online, but with no clear message from the Government about whether they could sell and deliver vehicles to drivers during the lockdown.
This week, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy offered some relief the the motor industry by confirming dealerships can still remotely sell cars and – adhering to social distancing rules – deliver them to customers.
A government spokesperson said: ‘We have asked non-essential shops like car dealerships and showrooms in England to close, unless they provide urgent car repairs and other necessary services.
‘They are all able to continue to sell cars remotely and deliver cars, as long as they follow our clear guidance from Public Health England to protect both employees who cannot work from home and their customers.’
The statement gives car dealers the green light to restart operations without fear of fines or police intervention, and means drivers can get their hands on new motors.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy confirmed dealerships can still remotely sell cars and – while adhering to social distancing rules – deliver them to customers
The Yaris Cross uses the same fourth generation hybrid powertrain that powers the standard hatchback model
The green poweertrain combines a 1.5 litre petrol engine linked to a 59kW electric motor producing a total of 114bhp
Toyota Yaris Cross to arrive next year from around £18k
The latest car they will be able to enquire about is Toyota’s new baby SUV – the first all-new model launched during the lockdown in Europe.
It is powered by the same fourth generation hybrid powertrain used in the Yaris hatchback – a 1.5 litre petrol engine linked to a 59kW electric motor producing a total of 114bhp.
The four-wheel drive version will have CO2 emissions of below 135g/km, though the front-wheel drive version will be slightly greener with a reduction of CO2 emissions below 120g/km.
The compact SUV is not due to arrive in UK showroom until 2021, with prices estimated to start from £18,000
The car is due to go head-to-head with the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke. A tech-laden interior should attract customers
Toyota expects to sell around 150,000 Yaris Cross’s a year across the UK and the rest of Europe
The new Yaris Cross was launched virtually online following the cancellation of this year’s Geneva Motor Show in March, where it was originally to have been revealed until the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to the European event.
It is built at Toyota’s Valenciennes factory in France alongside the standard Yaris hatchback and now forms one of a three-strong Yaris family which, the Japanese firm predicts, will account for a third of all its European sales.
Toyota Yaris Cross: Will it fit in my garage?
Price: from around £18,000
First deliveries: early 2021
Engine: 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol motor combined with a 59kW electric motor
Max power: 114bhp
Drivetrain: Front- and All-Wheel Drive
CO2 emissions (WLTP): Under 120g/km for front wheel drive and under 145g/km for all-wheel drive model
Length: 4,180mm
Width: 1,765mm
Height: 1,560mm
Wheelbase: 2,560
Toyota expects to sell around 150,000 Yaris Cross’s a year across the UK and the rest of Europe.
First deliveries are planned for early next year. Although no official prices have been announced, the Yaris Cross is expected to cost from around £18,000 to remain competitive against its arch rivals.
Nissan’s Juke starts from just over £17,000 but top specs can rise to more than £25,000, while Ford’s new Puma starts from £20,545. The standard Yaris hatchback starts from just under £15,000.
With its sharply minimalist styling, raised ground clearance, all-wheel drive and practical touches, the new Yaris Cross aims to attract drivers, couples and families with an active lifestyle in urban towns who enjoy forays into the country.
While it’s not a fully-fledged off-roader and will likely be used on the school run than mountain sides, it has 3cm more ground-clearance than the standard Yaris hatchabck – and is 9cm taller overall..
The cars share the same 2,560mm wheelbase but the Yaris Cross is 24cm longer overall, with 6cm added to the front overhang and 18cm to the rear to create extra interior space.
Practical features includes an electrically operated power boot lid for easy access when you have your hands full and adjustable floor in the luggage compartment giving the flexibility of a high surface when lifting heavy objects or increased space when you want to fill it with groceries.
Toyota’s Brexit faux-pas during online car reveal
Toyota bosses have delivered an embarrassing post-Brexit snub to British buyers by boasting that their latest new small sports utility vehicle has been designed and developed ‘with EU customers in mind.’
This is despite the fact that the UK is the Japanese car giant’s biggest Western European market and employs 3,000 people at its two British factories.
The gaffe delivered from the Japanese car firm’s European headquarters in Brussels during an international launch is likely to go down like a lead balloon in the UK which is one of Toyota’s biggest global markets, with around 150,000 sales last year alone, and home to the firm’s assembly plant at Burniston in Derbyshire and an engine plant in Deeside, North Wales.
The diplomatic blunder happened as Toyota Europe bosses based in Brussels launched their new Yaris Cross small SUV via the internet – after the Geneva Motor Show where it was supposed to be unveiled was cancelled because of the Corona virus.
But the launch video accompanying the unveiling and shown via the internet to the world’s press described in large letters how the new Yaris Cross has been: ‘Designed and developed with EU customers in mind.’
But this ignores the fact that the UK left the EU in January but remains geographically part of Europe.
Critics interpreted this as at best an unfortunate oversight caused by an EU-centric mindset in Toyota’s Brussels HQ and at worst an unfortunate snub for potential British customers by assuming that the EU has a monopoly on Europe.
Toyota said EU is a ‘commonly used abbreviation for Europe’ and was referenced for brevity and not a snub to Britain over Brexit.
It said the launch video was also screened in Russia, which is also not a member of the EU.
SAVE MONEY ON MOTORING
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.