A fresh report out of Brazil suggests Toyota plans to put a unibody pick-up into production by 2027, reviving speculation that a Corolla-based bakkie is indeed on the horizon…
Back in August 2023, news emerged that Toyota was mulling the development of a Corolla-based bakkie. Though there’s been little fresh information on that front for a while, a new report out of Brazil now suggests the seemingly global project is indeed going ahead.
According to AutoData, the Metalworkers’ Union of Sorocaba in Brazil has confirmed that negotiations to build a new Toyota bakkie at the Sorocaba factory in São Paulo are underway. Interestingly, this facility already produces the Corolla Cross and is expected to add the Yaris Cross to its assembly line by the end of 2024.
Pointing out that it usually takes a couple of years to prepare a production line for an all-new model, the union told AutoData that it expects manufacturing of the fresh-faced unibody bakkie to start only in 2027 (lining up neatly with the timing mentioned in the earlier report, which tipped Mississippi in North America as another potential production site).
Furthermore, the Brazilian publication claims the as-yet-unnamed small bakkie will be available in hybrid form and pitched against the likes of the Fiat Toro, Chevrolet Montana and Renault Oroch (though the latter will almost certainly have been replaced by 2027).
Despite the fact this latest report doesn’t specifically mention the Corolla nameplate, it’s thought Toyota will leverage the famous badge on this upcoming bakkie, while also likely basing it on the TNGA-C platform used by the hatch, sedan and Corolla Cross. Perhaps the newcomer will draw some styling inspiration from the fully electric EPU Concept pictured above and unwrapped in October 2023.
Of course, this rumoured unibody bakkie project is entirely separate from the since-revealed Hilux Champ, which is a ladder-frame contender that shares its underpinnings and engines with the current Hilux. And it’s the latter model that seems most likely to eventually go into production at Toyota South Africa Motors’ Prospecton plant in KwaZulu-Natal.
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