Toyota SA Motors will kill off the Agya budget hatch later in 2023, replacing it with a rebadged Suzuki Celerio called the Vitz. Meet what will be Toyota’s new cheapest car…

Toyota South Africa Motors looks set to reap the rewards of yet another vehicle collaboration with alliance partner Suzuki, with the Celerio-based Vitz confirmed for a local introduction in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

The Japanese firm’s local division made the announcement at its 6th annual State of the Motor Industry (SOMI 2023) event, held at Kyalami in Gauteng. The vehicle – which from what we understand is not yet offered with a Toyota badge in any other market – was unveiled on stage at the event.

Reviving a nameplate that has roots stretching back to 1998 and was once applied to the Yaris offered in the automaker’s domestic market of Japan, the Vitz will replace the Agya in South Africa. For the record, the latter model (itself based on the Daihatsu Ayla) hit local roads at the end of 2020, replacing the Aygo.

The Toyota Agya arrived in SA in November 2020.

At first glance, the new Vitz – which will surely be sourced from Maruti Suzuki in India – is little more than a rebadged Celerio. We’d thus speculate it will use the same K10C naturally aspirated 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine as the little Suzuki, delivering 49 kW and 89 Nm to the front axle through a 5-speed manual gearbox or an automated manual cog-swapper with the same number of gears.

Prices and specifications will be announced closer to the local launch, though judging by Toyota SA Motors’ strategy with other Suzuki-built products – such as the Starlet, outgoing Urban Cruiser and Rumion – the Vitz may well be positioned slightly above the Celerio’s current pricing bookends of R178900 and R213900.

For the sake of comparison, the Agya is currently Toyota’s cheapest car, starting at R200000 and topping out at R219900. The Vitz will thus by default become the brand’s least-expensive passenger car.

We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for more information on the new Vitz in the coming weeks…

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