One of the cornerstones of Toyota, when it was founded in South Africa, was offering affordability to all those who aspired for private mobility. A recent addition to their local lineup embraces this mantra wholeheartedly, albeit with an already familiar face. This is the new Toyota Vitz.
The State of the Motor Industry address by Toyota representatives at Kyalami enables us, the motoring media to gauge where the Japanese manufacturer is heading over the next calendar year. It also serves as a platform to introduce new models, display new technology and engage with the media.
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Obvious aside, this is a rebadged Suzuki Celerio, which forms another arm of the collaboration between the two manufacturers which as a result, provides more cost-effective R&D and production, making the end product more affordable for the consumer – remember this for the pricing details later on! From an initial glance, other than the centrally mounted Toyota badge fore and aft, the only other change is the Vitz moniker which sits on the boot lid. This means the model is presumably identical underneath as well.
DRIVEN: Suzuki Celerio GL M/T
If this is the case, the frugal 1,0-litre motor under the bonnet is good for 49 kW and 89 N.m and will likely be paired to either a five-speed manual or AMT gearbox. 
Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing stated: “The Vitz takes over the mantle from the outgoing Agya which has already established our presence in the A segment. It will be in showrooms during the second quarter of this year.”
While the Agya costs from R200 000, the Toyota derivative of the production partnership is unlikely to be priced too out of the reach of the Celerio, which means it should come in just under R180 000, making it cheaper than the model it replaces. Remember the sacrifice of badge engineering vs end cost? This is speculation, but more details will be released closer to its launch date in Q2. This more importantly will be part of Toyota’s heave to a 25% market share in the small car segment by 2025.
