Flashy-looking compact SUV is set to come with 1.8-litre petrol and hybrid models with prices starting from some 900,000 baht when official sales start early next year.
Orders of Toyota’s all-new C-HR will be taken at this month’s 2017 Motor Expo, ahead of Thai official sales early next year.
A spokesperson for Toyota Motor Thailand has confirmed that its flashy compact SUV will be wooing the Thai public for the first time at the year-ending auto show, which runs from Nov 30 to Dec 11 in Muang Thong Thani.
With prices projected to start in the 900,000 baht range, the C-HR will directly target the popular Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3.
The two most likely engines for the C-HR in Thailand are E85-capable 1.8-litre petrol unit and petrol-electric version with the same displacement.
The executive said the hybrid-powered C-HR will not only be used to sway punters from the top-end models of the HR-V but to also win hearts of owners of the third-generation Prius hybrid, which used to have prices starting from 1.2 some million baht.
The C-HR using the conventional motor will be positioned to take more sales in the 900,000 baht price racket while hoping to additionally lure owners out of the slightly smaller and cheaper Ford Ecosport and Nissan Juke.
According to the executive, the C-HR’s belated arrival in Thai showrooms is due to bespoke chassis-tuning for Thai road conditions and some recent tweaks in excise taxation for cars with some kind of electrification.
Due to its game-changing design, the C-HR is set to be the most talked-about new car at the car show. The C-HR will also be Toyota’s first car-based SUV on Thai forecourts sitting below the pickup-derived Fortuner in terms of price and size.
