Toyota Vitz
Toyota Vitz
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Toyota Vitz

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Toyota Vitz

The Toyota Vitz (Japanese: トヨタ・ヴィッツ, Hepburn: Toyota Vittsu) is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota from 1999 to 2019 in a three- or five-door hatchback body styles. The "Vitz" nameplate was used consistently in Japan, while most international markets received the same vehicle as the Toyota Yaris, or as the Toyota Echo in some markets for the first generation. The Vitz was available in Japan from Toyota's Netz Store dealerships. Toyota began production in Japan and later assembled the vehicle in other Asian countries and in France.

By 2010, the first two generations had achieved in excess of 3.5 million sales in over 70 countries, including more than 1.4 million in Japan.

In 2019, the "Vitz" nameplate was no longer used in Japan due to faltering sales and the unification of Toyota sales network in Japan, and the vehicle was replaced by the XP210 series Yaris. Since 2023, the nameplate is reused for a rebadged third-generation Suzuki Celerio for African markets.

The first generation XP10 series Vitz was designed by Sotiris Kovos at Toyota's ED2 studio in Europe. It was first unveiled at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. Production began in late 1998, with a Japanese on-sale date of January 1999; European sales commenced two months later as the "Toyota Yaris". When introduced to Australasia in October 1999, the "Toyota Echo" name was used, as was the case in Canada when released there in 2003 for the 2004 model year. The "Echo" and "Yaris" names were also given to the export version of the related Japanese market Toyota Platz sedan, also available as a coupé in North America. Often sold alongside the hatchback and marketed as a single line of vehicles, exterior panels common between the Vitz and Platz were restricted to the front doors. However, as Vitz and Platz were designed using the same platform, the mechanicals are largely identical and both share a common dashboard module. There was also a "Yaris Verso" or "Echo Verso" variant sold in some export markets from late 1999, based on the Japanese "Toyota Fun Cargo". The Verso MPV utilizes the same running gear as the Vitz, but features a more spacious interior.

At its introduction in 1999, it won the Car of the Year Japan Award.

What became the XP10 series was shown earlier in concept form at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show. This concept, titled "Funtime" was developed under the leadership of Shuhei Toyoda, who also commissioned two additional models based on the same platform: the "Funcoupe" and the "Funcargo", the predecessor to the forthcoming production model Fun Cargo. Styled in Brussels by Toyota's European Office of Creation (EPOC), the "Fun project" as it was known, was envisaged to underline the versatility of shared platform engineering. These concept vehicles morphed into the New Basic Car (NBC) program, with each separate NBC model designated a number, NBC1 in the case of the Vitz three-door. The name Vitz is the phonetic Anglicized spelling of the German word Witz which means "wit" (however, its principal meaning in contemporary German is "joke"). Toyota claims the contrived name Yaris is "intended to convey a European impression", while Echo "is intended to Echo nothing."

Instead of conventional analogue instruments, the Vitz utilized digital instruments which were mounted in a "pod" in the center of the dashboard. When sales commenced in the Canadian market this was not the case, with Toyota opting to fit a conventional speedometer, still mounted in the center of the dashboard.

In 2003, the facelifted 'Phase 2' Vitz was released with different bumpers and 'teardrop' front lights.

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