The Toyota Corolla-based ute isn’t a new project, prototype reveals – report
A Corolla-based ute prototype has been caught on video in South Africa, forcing Toyota to confirm the idea has been "under study" for years.
Unverified reports in recent months have suggested Toyota is working on a new unibody ute, based on the Corolla – a vehicle which could compete with the likes of the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz in overseas markets.
However, a new video has been posted online showing a small ute – created from a previous-generation Corolla – on the back of a Toyota-branded tow truck, pulling into a Toyota factory in South Africa.
Small car-based utes are popular in South Africa, where pick-ups of all kind are known as 'bakkies'.
First reported by local website Cars.co.za, the video from Ryan Hawker Motor on YouTube confirms a Corolla ute has been a serious proposition at Toyota for longer than previously thought.
"The vehicle you see in that is a prototype – and the model was under study at the time,” a spokesperson for Toyota South Africa told the publication.
They also confirmed the unibody ute "was modelled on the previous-generation Corolla Quest" and is "therefore not in development".
While Toyota has been known to drop current or previous-generation vehicle bodies onto new-generation chassis – so as to hide development in plain sight, as with the LandCruiser 300 Series and Prado – it's unlikely this is the case in this instance, given the Corolla is a unibody vehicle and does not have a ladder-frame chassis.
The prototype does confirm a small Corolla-based ute has been more than a passing thought for Toyota.
A report from publication Automotive News last month suggests the idea of a smaller pick-up has gained traction in the US – in the wake of the success of small 'lifestyle' utes from Ford and Hyundai.
In October 2022, the Japanese car giant applied to trademark Stout – a model name it previously used on a ute manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s.
Toyota recently unveiled its new small ute in Indonesia, though it's thought the model is being made exclusively for developing Southeast Asian markets.