It’s not a secret for anyone that small cars aren’t
doing very well in the United States. Buyers have been lured in recent years by
small and compact crossovers, leading to dwindling sales for subcompacts, which
weren’t that popular in the Land of the Free. While Toyota USA has pledged to
remain committed to passenger cars, it looks like not all nameplates are
guaranteed a future in its lineup. The Yaris Liftback is one of them, as the
automaker will stop offering it for the 2019 model year.
CarsDirect broke the news and Toyota confirmed it
without providing a reason for axing the small hatch. However, as mentioned
above, the lack of demand for subcompact cars is most likely the main
motivation behind the decision.
It looks like this wasn’t an easy choice for Toyota,
which had already issued ordering guides for the 2019 Yaris Liftback which is
based on Europe-spec Yaris. The car was listed as “TBA” for months well after
that. This is something unusual as carmakers typically don’t issue ordering
guides for cars they don’t plan to build.
In the end, the 2019 Yaris Liftback will be no more,
but consumers will still be able to purchase a Toyota Yaris: the sedan version,
which will soldier on. Except that one isn’t actually a Toyota, but a rebadged
Mazda2 sedan. Previously known as the Yaris iA, it has been renamed the Yaris
for 2019 and has been priced US$ 500 lower at US$ 15,450 (excluding US$ 930
destination).
Toyota will keep the sedan as it’s arguably a better
car to drive than the hatchback, is priced slightly lower, and offers more
features as standard. Not to mention that it probably has a supply contract
with Mazda to honor.
Later on, another Toyota spokesperson confirmed the
announcement was about the 2020 Yaris. It remains to be seen whether that’s
related to the hatchback or the sedan.
