Is this the SUV that Toyota will build in Alabama?



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Toyota is eliminating its plans to add Corolla's production to the new Huntsville, Alabama plant, which it is building with Mazda and will manufacture a new SUV, as you have guessed.

Although Corolla's sales remain solid in the compact car segment and fall by only 5% in the first half of 2019, the manufacturer has read the tea leaves and realizes that the market continues to move towards heavy goods vehicles and commercial vehicles.

Toyota already has six distinct SUV models in its lineup, and it has not yet confirmed the position of the new. According to speculation in the automotive media, it will be a production version of the remarkable FT-4X concept unveiled at the New York Auto Show in 2017.

The FT-4X is an all-terrain crossover inspired by the Jeep Renegade, smaller than a Rav4. It has a boxy style and is packed with smart features, such as a double hatch that can be opened like a barn door or a hatchback, a sliding rear cargo floor with a storage compartment underneath, a sleeping bag that can be used as a locker. Central armrest and handles that can be used as removable water bottles. In its early days, Toyota had proposed a four-cylinder engine and a low-traction all-wheel drive system to improve its off-road capabilities, if any.

Ford has developed a similar vehicle, known as "Baby Bronco", which is expected to go on sale next year, at about the same time as everything Toyota has cooked.

Mazda had previously announced that it would build a sport utility vehicle on the site, which would use the same platform as the Toyota, but gave no indication as to its size or style.

Toyota will continue to build the Corolla at its Mississippi plant.

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