Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its fully remodeled Vitz compact.
"We have developed this car to provide an upgraded level of performance of compact cars," Toyota President Fujio Cho told a news conference in Tokyo. "We hope to attract customers from the minivehicle segment."
Toyota, the nation's largest carmaker, hopes the Vitz will win it a bigger share of the growing compact market.
The first-generation Vitz, launched in 1999, was a huge success, and led the expansion of the compact car segment. The "two-box" compact car market now accounts for 26 percent of the total domestic market, excluding minivehicles, Cho said.
The Vitz is powered by an engine ranging from 1 to 1.5 liters. It is 3.75 meters long.
The cabin was expanded to create more room. It is almost the same size as a larger vehicle, like Toyota's Corolla Runx.
The Vitz features the world's first pollen-removal air conditioner, Toyota said.
The conventional Vitz is sold abroad as the Yaris. Toyota said it might sell the new Vitz overseas. It did not say where or when it might launch the new model.
The new Vitz is priced between 1.05 million yen and 1.55 million yen and is available through Netz Toyota dealers.
