It appears that a bakkie version of the Toyota Corolla Cross is currently under development in Brazil. Picture is for illustration purposes only and does not represent the production model in any way .
Image: ChatGPT
A Corolla bakkie. It actually happened in the 1970s. It nearly happened again in the 2010s, and now it looks like it’s happening for real – in South America at least.
A disguised prototype of a double cab bakkie that appears to be heavily based on the current Toyota Corolla Cross has been spied on a highway in São Paulo, Brazil.
A video of the camouflaged vehicle, filmed by journalist Fabiano Mazzeo, was posted on Instagram this week by Brazilian publication BlogAuto, which reports that the new pick-up will go into production at the Sorocaba plant in Brazil in 2027.
According to Motor1, engines are expected to include a fuel-flex version of the current 1.8-litre hybrid, as well as a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol and a fuel-flex plug-in hybrid model.
Compact double cab bakkies are popular in Brazil, and the Corolla Cross pick-up will go up against some formidable competition, including the Fiat Toro, Ram Rampage, Ford Maverick and the upcoming Volkswagen Tucan, which is also expected to surface in 2027.
The new VW bakkie has also been long-rumoured for South African introduction, with speculation rife that it will be built alongside the new, and technically related, Tera compact crossover at the Kariega assembly plant.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Corolla Cross double cab will ever get the green light for production at Toyota’s Prospecton plant in KwaZulu-Natal. The company does not announce product plans this far in advance, and there is also the not-so-small matter of line space at the local plant, which already produces the Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Hiace.
It remains an interesting prospect, however, and one that could become the envy of many local Toyota fans, just like the Saveiro did for Volkswagen faithful, many of whom refuse to forgive the local division for not bringing the exclusively left-hand-drive model here. But that’s a story for another day.
Interestingly, it wouldn’t be the first time that Toyota SA has considered a Corolla bakkie in modern times.
A few years back, a prototype of a single cab bakkie based on the tenth-generation Corolla sedan, first introduced in 2007, was spotted on the back of a flatbed near the Prospecton plant. The project, which would likely have dovetailed with the first iteration of the Corolla Quest around 2014, was ultimately canned.
ALSO READ: The Corolla bakkie that Toyota South Africa designed but never built
IOL Motoring