Toyota C-HR dropped from Malaysia’s line-up, Toyota Corolla Cross to fill the gap?

The quirky-but-stylish Toyota C-HR has been quietly dropped from UMW Toyota Motor’s line-up, leaving a vacant spot that will be soon filled by the 2021 Toyota Corolla Cross.

The Toyota Corolla Cross, unlike the made-in-Thailand Toyota C-HR, is expected to be locally-assembled (CKD) at UMWT’s manufacturing subsidiary Assembly Services Sdn. Bhd.’s (ASSB) second plant in Bukit Raja.

Local assembly should allow UMWT to price the Corolla Cross more competitively against its rivals and hopefully not repeating the C-HR’s mistake. When the Toyota C-HR was still on sale in Malaysia, it retailed for RM 144,336 – pricier than rivals like the Honda HR-V (RM 104k to RM 118k) and Hyundai Kona (RM 115k to RM 143k). These prices are inclusive of the 10% SST exemption.

To recap, the Toyota Corolla Cross rides on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), more specifically the TNGA-C variant – similar to the C-HR and Corolla Altis, but with a simpler, more space-efficient torsion beam rear suspension setup. The C-HR and Corolla Altis utilize a more complex double wishbone setup.

Two powertrains are offered in Thailand: a 1.8-litre petrol that is shared with the Corolla Altis and a 1.8-litre petrol-electric. We believe that the hybrid option could be introduced in Malaysia, as UMWT has previously said that they plan to introduce more hybrid models here.

The Toyota Corolla Cross made its global debut in Thailand back in July 2020. Factoring in the lead-time required for local assembly and local parts sourcing, a late-2021 debut in Malaysia is likely.