In order to sell 11 million cars per year there aren’t many automotive niches Toyota doesn’t compete in, and a new model spied in Brazil will plug a glaring hole in its South American lineup.
Brazilian site BlogAuto spotted this prototype on a highway in Sao Paolo, and it appears to be a unibody ute based on the locally-made Corolla Cross SUV.
As is common with car-based pickups, the new ute looks to be bigger than the donor vehicle, with a longer wheelbase and unique rear doors. With the Corolla Cross having a length of 4.46m, we expect the ute to be at least 4.7m long.
According to BlogAuto and other Brazilian sources there will be two drivetrains offered, with lesser models featuring a 2.0-litre flex fuel engine making around 129kW and mated to a continuously variable transmission with 10 simulated gears. This powertrain seems to be taken straight from the Corolla Cross.
There will also be an E-Four hybrid drivetrain with a petrol engine and electric motor up front, and an independent electric motor on the rear axle. For reference, the Brazil-made Corolla Cross hybrid models are front-wheel drive only and come with a 90kW 1.8-litre hybrid system.
The as-yet unnamed ute is expected begin production in the first quarter of 2027 at Toyota’s plant in Sorocaba in the state of Sao Paolo, where it will share floor space with the closely-related Corolla Cross.
When the new ute is unveiled, it will be the first Toyota model to make its global debut in Brazil. Its unclear if Toyota has plans to sell the new model outside of Latin America.
Thanks to being produced in Brazil, it will avoid steep import tariffs and enjoy duty-free access to the rest of the Mercosur trading bloc, allowing it compete head-to-head with the similarly-sized Chevrolet Montana and Renault Duster Oroch, and possibly the larger 4.9m Fiat Toro and 5.0m Ram Rampage.
The South American fondness for utes began in the 1980s and 1990s with the likes of the Volkswagen Saveiro, Fiat Strada and Chevrolet Montana, which were two-door utes based on contemporary light hatches, namely the Gol, Palio and Corsa, respectively.
In the 2010s automakers began abandoning the utes’ light hatch roots in favour of larger platforms and four-door layouts.
The Corolla Cross ute may not be the only unibody pickup being developed by Toyota, with Ted Ogawa, the company’s North American boss, recently indicating the automaker is investigating a RAV4-based model to fill the space below the Tacoma.
Such a model would take on the Escape-based Ford Maverick in the US market, but it’s unclear if it will be approved, when it could be released, and where it might be exported to.