Baby SUV a "priority" for Toyota Oz

Australia's most popular new car brand, Toyota, is still yet to find a compact SUV to slot into its range. But the sporty CH-R is odds-on favourite, with a huge amount of work being done to secure it for Australia.

In fact, motoring.com.au understands that Toyota Australia product planners and engineers are en route to the company's manufacturing plant near Nagoya to assess the vehicle for local introduction.

Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing, Tony Cramb, told motoring.com.au there was no higher priority for his company than entering the booming compact SUV sector, which is up 27 per cent year on year.

"It's the highest priority that we have in Australia at Toyota. No question," he said.

"It's in a market that's on fire and we don't have a product in that [compact SUV] market – and we simply have to," he stated.

Expected to rival small SUVs such as the Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V, Mitsubishi ASX, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, the production version of the Toyota CH-R will be revealed at the 2016 Geneva motor show next March.

Cramb revealed he has seen the production version and said the C-HR "would be suited to Australia", but would not confirm its local release.

"Whether C-HR is going to be it we're still to determine, but we're excited to see the production model in Geneva," said Cramb, who was spotted eyeing off the five-door C-HR concept at its most recent outing during last week's Tokyo motor show.

"It won't be that much different to what you see [from the concept]. People will be surprised in a good way. It'll be like 'I didn't realise they could keep so much of that.'

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you see it… It'll be a winner," he grinned.

With few other options available to Toyota for a vehicle to slot in underneath the RAV4, the only hurdle facing the CH-R's Australian introduction appears to be pricing and specs.

"We have to check the specification, and make sure we can get a vehicle that makes sense in the local market," said Cramb, who confirmed that the business plan to bring the car here is well underway.

Apart from plugging a hole in Toyota Australia's product line-up, a compact SUV will bring a stylish, fresh new look to its dealerships, aided by another all-new entry-level model in the sub-86 S-FR baby sports coupe.