Outselling HR-V, Toyota Yaris Cross holds nearly 40% market share in its debut sales month in Thailand
CY Foong · Nov 28, 2023 10:15 AM
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It seems that the Toyota Yaris Cross is becoming a massive hit in Thailand as it became the Kingdom’s best-selling compact SUV in October 2023 which was its first month of sales with 2,399 units sold.
According to Autolife Thailand, it holds a 39.1% market share in the segment and thanks to the sales spike, the Yaris Cross is also the sixth best-selling subcompact SUV of 2023 so far.
Its closest rival, the Honda HR-V is October’s second best-selling subcompact SUV in Thailand with 1,451 units sold but the HR-V is way ahead in terms of cumulative sales with 19,143 units sold in 2023 thus far.
The Yaris Cross’ bigger brother, the Corolla Cross rounds up the monthly sales podium in third with 982 units sold. The CC is also the second best-selling compact crossover in 2023 so far with 15,283 units sold.
The Yaris Cross was pretty much certain to be a hit in Thailand since it received more than 5,000 orders within a week of its launch. The figures for its debut sales month are also well within its projected monthly sales target of 2,000 units.
However, this is to be expected since newly launched models will have a spike in sales in the first couple of months. Sales could eventually taper after the third month but we'll see if the Yaris Cross remains in demand among Thais then.
In Thailand, the Yaris Cross is locally assembled (CKD) in the Kingdom which makes Thailand the second country to produce the DNGA-platform SUV after Indonesia.
The Thai-spec Yaris Cross is also only available with a petrol-hybrid unit that combines a 1.5-litre 2NR-VEX naturally aspirated engine (91 PS/121 Nm) with an electric motor (80 PS/121 Nm).
The petrol variants are not offered in the Kingdom but are offered in Indonesia and other markets like Cambodia and Taiwan. Powering the non-hybrid Yaris Cross is a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre 2NR-VE that makes 106 PS/138 Nm.
All variants of the Yaris Cross are paired with a D-CVT automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels.
Meanwhile, Malaysians looking forward to the Yaris Cross might have to wait a bit longer. The name was trademarked at the Malaysian trademark office last year and it is rumoured that the SUV could be the basis for Perodua’s upcoming D66B SUV that could be called the Nexis.
P2’s upcoming SUV could serve as a direct competitor against the Proton X50 and there are even murmurs that it might even be Perodua’s first mass-produced hybrid model. The Ativa Hybrid is currently only available for lease and is imported (CBU) from Japan.
Traded advertising for a career that fits his passion for cars. Enjoys spotting cars during his free time and has a soft spot for Japanese Kei cars but drives a thirsty manual sedan.
