Toyota has opted to not make a 2019 version of its slow-selling Yaris Liftback in the U.S., appearing to end the run of what had been the brand's most affordable car. CarsDirect first reported the news
Whether you call it "discontinuing" the model depends on who's talking. "It's not that we're discontinuing the Liftback for 2019," spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell told Autoblog, but she said that for now Toyota will simply focus on selling remaining 2018s. She also confirmed CarsDirect's report that Toyota will have an announcement about a 2020 Yaris in April at the New York Auto Show.
The Yaris three- and five-door hatchbacks date back to 2007 and are different vehicles than the Yaris sedan, which traces its lineage to the Scion iA sedan and only dropped the iA moniker for 2019. Despite stuffing it with standard safety features like lane departure warning, automatic high beams and automatic emergency braking, the Liftback's base trim starting price is just $16,565 including destination.
But the diminutive hatchback has found itself out of favor amid a buying public looking for larger utility vehicles and high riders. Toyota sold just 1,940 Liftback Yaris models in 2018, down 77.6 percent. Overall Yaris sales were 27,209, a drop of 38.7 percent from 2017.
CarsDirect reports that Toyota had already issued order guides for a 2019 Yaris Liftback before deciding against it, and that 2018 inventory is largely sold out. As Hubbell says, "Stay tuned for New York."
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Whether you call it "discontinuing" the model depends on who's talking. "It's not that we're discontinuing the Liftback for 2019," spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell told Autoblog, but she said that for now Toyota will simply focus on selling remaining 2018s. She also confirmed CarsDirect's report that Toyota will have an announcement about a 2020 Yaris in April at the New York Auto Show.
The Yaris three- and five-door hatchbacks date back to 2007 and are different vehicles than the Yaris sedan, which traces its lineage to the Scion iA sedan and only dropped the iA moniker for 2019. Despite stuffing it with standard safety features like lane departure warning, automatic high beams and automatic emergency braking, the Liftback's base trim starting price is just $16,565 including destination.
But the diminutive hatchback has found itself out of favor amid a buying public looking for larger utility vehicles and high riders. Toyota sold just 1,940 Liftback Yaris models in 2018, down 77.6 percent. Overall Yaris sales were 27,209, a drop of 38.7 percent from 2017.
CarsDirect reports that Toyota had already issued order guides for a 2019 Yaris Liftback before deciding against it, and that 2018 inventory is largely sold out. As Hubbell says, "Stay tuned for New York."
Related Video:
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