Toyota introduces new compact car platform

Toyota has announced new underpinnings for its next iteration of small cars.

The new GA-B platform has been specifically designed for compact vehicles and will likely underpin the next-gen Toyota Yaris, offering a low centre of gravity, low hip point, variable height chassis and an optimized steering wheel position.

A development of the Japanese car maker’s new TNGA platform architecture, the new GA-B version sits below the current GA-C platform used by the brand's CH-R and Corolla.

The new platform will allow for different vehicle wheelbase lengths, heights and track widths, which Toyota says will give designers and engineers freedom to create new models of different sizes and body types.

That means we can expect a range of hatches and even compact SUVs from Toyota in the future.

However it's not clear whether this platform will form the basis of the brand's mooted compact sports car, first seen in the Toyota S-FR concept.

There's no data on whether the platform will support purely front-drive, or all-wheel drive and rear-drive layouts as well.

In terms of suspension, it gets MacPherson struts up front and either a torsion beam or multi-link rear end depending on the model.

Cabin space is also something Toyota has tried to maximise thanks to its long wheelbase and positioning of the wheels at the corners of the platform with little overhang.

Toyota says the GA-B platform will also deliver a drive that is confident and natural, due to its highly rigid underbody using with strengthened joints, while still focusing on weight-saving and cost control.