Toyota Urban Cruiser EV Revealed: Maruti eVitara-Based Electric SUV Launching In India Next Year

The production version of the Toyota Urban Cruiser electric SUV has just been revealed. The electric vehicle (EV), which will soon become the most affordable EV in Toyota’s global line up will be showcased at the Brussels Motor Show  on 10th January 2025, followed by an official launch later in the year. The Toyota Urban Cruiser EV is essentially the badge engineered version of the Maruti Suzuki eVitara. In fact, it will be built by Suzuki at its Gujarat factory, to be sold in India and global markets.

Interestingly, the name plate – Urban Cruiser – is making a comeback into India after many years.

The last Urban Cruiser that Toyota sold here was the badge engineered version of the previous generation Maruti Vitara Brezza. Toyota skipped this generation of the Brezza but will not hold back on launching the electric version of Maruti’s eVitara.

We’re given to understand that Toyota plans to use the Urban Cruiser EV as its entry level electric car in markets across the globe including in Europe and South East Asia. The Urban Cruiser shares nearly everything except for styling with the Maruti eVitara. Like the eVitara, the Urban Cruiser EV will be offered in multiple variants. The base model will be front wheel driven, with a 144 Bhp-189 Nm motor.

Top-end front wheel drive models will get 172 Bhp-189 Nm outputs while there will also be an all wheel drive version on offer. The all wheel drive model will get two electric motors – one on each axle, and higher outputs of 182 Bhp-300 Nm thanks to the additional motor driving the rear wheels. Like the eVitara, there will be two battery packs on offer. The entry level trims will get a 45 kWh Blade battery sourced from BYD while higher trims will get a 61 kWH BYD Blade battery.

A realistic range off about 300 Kms is likely for the smaller battery equipped versions while the larger battery should give the Toyota electric SUV a range of about 400 Kms. The Toyota Urban Cruiser EV will be launched in India as well, and is likely to be showcased at the upcoming Bharat Mobility Expo in January 2024. The new SUV will be Toyota’s only electric car for the Indian market in the near term.

Coming to the styling, the Toyota Urban Cruiser looks quite similar to the concept version it was based on – a design strategy that the Maruti eVitara adopted as well. Styling seems to be typically Toyota with a please-all-offend-none design that nobody would have issues with.

The Urban Cruiser EV shares its 2,700 mm wheelbase with the eVitara. Length measures at 4,285 mm. Compared to the concept, the production version stands 20 mm taller at 1,640 mm while width has marginally reduced 20 mm to 1,800 mm.

The Urban Cruiser EV will share much of the interiors with the eVitara with key changes limited to colors used for the upholstery and other bits. As for features, an ADAS suite, connected apps, touchscreen infotainment, electric parking brake, sunroof and JBL sound system are some of the prominent bits. As for pricing, it’ll be quite interesting as to where Toyota would position the Urban Cruiser EV now that the Mahindra BE 6 has come along and upset plans of nearly every automaker.

Being a Toyota, the Urban Cruiser EV is likely to be slightly pricier than the eVitara notwithstanding the fact that it’s essentially a Maruti in Toyota clothes. A starting price of about Rs. 16 lakh should give the Urban Cruiser EV a decent chance to make a mark in the Indian market. If Toyota gets greedy prices the Urban Cruiser close to 20 lakh rather than 16 lakh, expect sales to be weak.