Toyota recently announced the launch of the Etios and Etios Liva in the Brazilian market. The India-specific Etios brand was a huge success in India when the sedan version was launched in December 2010, and later the Etios Liva hatchback in June 2011. Toyota India even exported the Etios to South Africa. Now the Etios brand is on its way to score some numbers in Brazil. However, Toyota believes that in order to revive its position in the global automobile market, and to get the sales figure high, the company needs to introduce new products.
The latest introduction to the Toyota line-up could be a compact crossover. Based on the same platform as that of the Etios, the crossover is expected to have the same engine as well, but with some performance improvements. A 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 1.4-litre diesel engine are likely to power the Etios based crossover. With Etios developed specifically for developing markets like India, it is highly likely that the Etios crossover will come to India.
Toyota has already commenced a feasibility study to gauge response for a compact SUV in the Indian market. Compact SUVs are the next big thing and the stupendous response to the Renault Duster are testimony to the same. Toyota already has the Rush compact SUV (second generation Daihatsu Terios) but its unlikely they will bring it here as it will turn out to be costly. Thus the Etios based compact crossover is just the need of the hour for the Japanese automaker. Even Volkswagen is doing something similar with the development of a Polo and Up! based crossover.