Toyota reveals why Urban Cruiser SUV has been discontinued in Indian car market

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has struck off Urban Cruiser sub-compact SUV from its product lineup in the country and has said it is focusing now on driving out models based on customer preference. Urban Cruiser was the rebadged version of the highly-popular Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.

First launched in the Indian car market in September of 2020 at a starting price of ₹8.40 lakh (ex-showroom), the Urban Cruiser was Toyota's bid to find some space in the packed and highly-competitive sub-compact SUV segment. The model was offered with a a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine and produced 103 hp while offering 138 Nm of torque. While the model did fare reasonably well in the initial few months, the response was gradually getting lukewarm and it is reported that the company was unable to sell even a single unit of the model in October. This despite some very lucrative discounts through the festive period. Overall, Toyota reported cumulative wholesales of around 65,000 units of Urban Cruiser with a majority of the buyers coming in from Tier 2 and 3 cities and towns.

For now, Toyota is banking on its Urban Cruiser Hyryder mid-size SUV to connect with potential buyers even as the main source of its thrust continues to come from enormously popular models - Innova Crysta and Fortuner. As for the Urban Cruiser, it is highly unlikely that it would make a comeback as Toyota looks towards catering to the high-traction segments with newer cars and better technologies. “In alignment to this philosophy, we have decided to phase out the Toyota Urban Cruiser, firmly believing that our existing strong and sustainable product line-up in India will help us cater to the demand in the market."

(With inputs from PTI)