The next-generation Toyota Aygo is due for a release now that the current generation model is nearing the end of its seven-year life-cycle. While not all too successful in South Africa, the Aygo has been massively popular in the European market. Within its segment, the micro Japanese hatch is the third best-selling competitor.
According to Automotive News Europe, the Japanese brand may want to capitalise on this success by making the next-generation Toyota Aygo a small crossover. Although this is akin to the Fiat Panda and Suzuki Ignis, European regional CEO Matthew Harrison describes this as a “new A segment vehicle.”
What we can expect to see for the next-generation Toyota Aygo is a product that falls in line with the Aygo X Prologue concept that was revealed in March this year. This design study proposed a higher ground clearance than the current product but it would still be lower than the two aforementioned competitors.
Like the current Toyota Yaris and Yaris Cross, the next-generation Toyota Aygo will be based off the GA-B flatplan of the TNGA platform. We can expect to see a production ready example within the coming months.
Production will start by the end of this year in Kolin, Harrison added. The Kolin plant is also going to start assembling the Yaris, which is currently built at Valenciennes, northern France.
“This is probably the most important six months in the history of our local production in Europe,” he said.
Furthermore, PSA will be withdrawing its Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108 from the joint venture as it has no plans to replace these models. These products were also assembled at Toyota’s factory in Kolin, Czech Republic. This marks the end of a 16 year relationship between the Japanese and French manufacturers.
In South Africa, the Toyota Aygo was replaced with its Pacific Asian-built sibling, the Agya, as a more affordable alternative.
