To sell 11 million vehicles a year, there aren’t many automotive niches Toyota isn’t participating, and a new model spied in Brazil will fill a glaring gap in the Japanese brand’s South American lineup.
Brazilian site BlogAuto I spotted this double-cab prototype on a highway in São Paulo, and it appears to be a unibody car based on the locally made Corolla Cross small SUV.
As usual with car-based pickups, the new ute appears larger than the donor vehicle, with a longer wheelbase and unique rear doors. The Corolla Cross has a length of 4.46 meters, so we expect the length to be at least 4.7 meters.
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According to BlogAuto and other Brazilian sources, two powertrains will be offered, with smaller models featuring a 2.0-liter flex-fuel engine delivering approximately 129 kW of power and mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) with 10 simulated gears. This powertrain seems to come straight from the Corolla Cross.
There will also reportedly be an E-Four hybrid powertrain with a gasoline engine and an electric motor at the front, and an independent electric motor on the rear axle. For reference, the Brazilian-made Corolla Cross hybrid models are front-wheel drive only and come with a 1.8-litre 90kW hybrid system.
The as-yet unnamed ute is expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2027 at Toyota’s Sorocaba plant in São Paulo state, 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. It is unclear whether Toyota has plans to sell the new model outside Latin America.
Because it is produced in Brazil, it avoids high import tariffs and enjoys duty-free access to the rest of the Mercosur trading bloc, allowing it to compete with the similarly sized Chevrolet Montana and Renault Duster Oroch, and possibly the larger 4.9-metre Fiat Toro and 5.0-metre Ram Rampage.
The South American penchant for utes started in the 1980s and 1990s with the likes of the Volkswagen Saveiro, Fiat Strada and Chevrolet Montana, two-door utes based on modern light hatches, namely the Gol, Palio and Corsa respectively.
In the 2010s, automakers began abandoning lightweight hatch roots in favor of larger platforms and four-door layouts.
The Corolla Cross may not be the only unibody pickup being developed by Toyota. Ted Ogawa, the company’s North American boss, recently indicated that the automaker is exploring a RAV4-based car to fill the space below the Tacoma.
Such a model would take over the Escape-based Ford Maverick in the US market, but it is unclear whether it will be approved, when it will be launched and where it will be exported.
MORE: Explore the Toyota Corolla Cross showroom
