It might be early days, but Toyota could be plotting another successful recipe after the Fortuner and planning an SUV spin-off from its new cost-efficient budget pickup platform based on the same architecture as the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner.
A new smaller SUV with the same tough origins as the Fortuner could find huge acceptance in India given the popularity of rugged 4x4 vehicles of late. The new SUV most probably will not have any Fortuner branding but will be a new SUV positioned below the Fortuner and above the Hyryder. It will be a rugged offering though and will come with a 2.4 diesel and a 2.0 petrol with 4x4 and 4x2 options.
New IMV series
The new IMV series1 model IMV 02 is about economical and rugged pickups and an SUV with the same ethos could work for the Indian market. The interior does show a barebones look but could be adapted for India. The legendary Land Cruiser Prado series could influence the look and have a butch design. Expected to borrow the Fortuner underpinnings, this SUV could be a masterstroke given that the Fortuner now has become more premium than before with prices being north of Rs 50 lakh for the top-end variants.
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As far as the IMV 0 is concerned, it is a barebones pick-up and is a rigged utilitarian answer to being a modular pick-up of the future. An SUV with these tough but basic interiors could find favour due to the demand for rugged Toyota SUVs here. At the same time, Toyota can also significantly increase its market share in India. With a large product gap between the Fortuner and the next SUV, this could ideally fit in although its launch is some time away.
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