5 New Toyota Cars and Concepts Unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2013

To uphold the Auto Shanghai 2013 trend of automakers recognizing the importance of the Chinese market, Toyota brought an astounding 52 vehicles to the motor show this week. Not all of them will make it into any market outside of China, but many of them will. Unfortunately, among the Chinese-exclusive vehicles unveiled was the Toyota FT-HT Concept, which is the first car we’ll be talking about today.

Toyota FT-HT Concept

First up, we have a flashy new concept called the Toyota FT-HT Yuejia (which means “Happy Family”). It’s a swoopy MPV with a hybrid powertrain – the same one that’s in the Prius. It’s aimed at Chinese drivers in their mid-20s and early 30s who are just starting a family.

What’s really cool about this concept, aside from its design, is the six-seat configuration, which has three rows of two individual seats each. The concept is confirmed to make it to production at some point, although we don’t know when, and again, it will be China-exclusive.

The Ranz EV Concept

We unofficially heard about Ranz, Toyota’s new sub-brand, late last month. The new marquee’s first concept car was unveiled at Auto Shanghai. It’s name? The Ranz. Thus I give you the Ranz Ranz, a new concept EV for the FAW-Toyota joint venture.

The new Ranz concept is based on the Corolla sedan (in case you can’t tell), and is aimed at giving Chinese buyers an affordable zero-emissions EV.

Unidentified Sub-Brand EV Concept

Another EV debuted at Auto Shanghai right next to the Ranz EV. This one is also from a new sub-brand, but we don’t know its name. All we know is that this EV is based on the Camry, and is the result of a new JV with Guangzhou Auto.

China-Spec Toyota Yaris and Vios

Last but not least, Toyota debuted newly modified versions of the Yaris hatchback and Vios sedan. Personally, I think both of these cars turned out very well, with several distinct features that separate them from their non-Chinese counterparts, like new alloy wheels and reshaped headlights. Especially the exteriors; I feel both updated versions have an improved profile. The interior of both is, of course, very cleanly laid out too.

All in all, Toyota had a lot to say at Auto Shanghai 2013. With a booth occupying 4600m of space, obviously this article doesn’t cover every single vehicle they brought, but hopefully it gives you a taste of where Toyota wants to with the exploding Chinese market.

As always, thanks for reading. Come back tomorrow for a final wrap up of Japanese cars at Auto Shanghai 2013.