UMW Toyota Motor will be launching the all-new 2023 Toyota Innova Zenix later tonight. A countdown timer to its online launch and a registration of interest page is already up on its website.

Usually, the introduction of a new generation model would also mean the discontinuation / replacement of the previous generation model.

The Toyota Innova could be an exemption to this, if product line ups in Indonesia and India – the two biggest markets for the Innova – is a reliable indication of what’s coming for Malaysia.

In Indonesia, the latest generation passenger car-based TNGA-C monocoque platform 2023 Toyota Innova Zenix is sold alongside the previous generation Toyota Hilux / Fortuner’s IMV platform-based rear-wheel drive (Kijang) Innova.

It’s the same with India, where the Innova HyCross (as the Innova Zenix is known there) is sold alongside the old Innova, marketed under the Innova Crysta name.

The reason? Low price, high load limit, and high ground clearance to drive over rough roads are important criteria for a large segment of buyers in India and Indonesia, but none of these requirements can be matched by the new generation passenger car-based Innova Zenix.

The passenger car TNGA-C platform used by the Innova Zenix is shared with the Corolla Cross and Corolla Altis. It’s great for comfort and fuel efficiency but there’s a reason why the heavy load-carrying Hilux and Fortuner still use ladder frame chassis.

Buyers in rural Indonesia and India don’t want a higher fuel consumption and higher maintenance 4x4, but they want a people carrier that’s cheaper than a Fortuner. All they need are three row seats, high load carrying capability, and high ground clearance to clear flash floods and broken road surfaces.

These buyers also prefer a rear-wheel drive setup, not because they want to do gymkhana, but in a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the driven wheels get more traction when the car is heavily loaded, which they often are. In a rear-wheel drive car, the weight over the rear axle will keep the driven tyres firmly in contact with the ground.

Of course, Malaysia is very different from India and Indonesia, so it’s left to be seen if UMW Toyota Motor will adopt the same parallel sales approach to sell both generations of Innova.

The new generation Toyota Innova Zenix is a completely different type of car.

Forget everything you know about the Innova, because the Innova Zenix is almost like an Alphard but minus the sliding doors, or a Harrier with three row seats – the keyword here is almost. As such, its price is expected to also be ‘almost’ that high-end Toyota models.

Prices of the 2023 Toyota Innova Zenix, now imported (CBU) from Indonesia, will be announced later tonight and along with it, the fate of the outgoing generation IMV platform Innova. The latter now sells for RM 133,880 (2.0G) and RM 141,880 (2.0X), both 8 seaters and locally assembled (CKD) in Shah Alam.