Toyota Platz

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Toyota Platz
Manufacturer	Toyota
Also called	Toyota Echo Toyota Yaris
Production	2000-2005
Assembly	Toyota City, Japan
Predecessor	Toyota Tercel Toyota Paseo
Successor	Toyota Belta Toyota Yaris
Class	Subcompact
Body style(s)	2-door coupé 3-door hatchback 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon(Yaris Verso) 5-door hatchback
Layout	FF layout
Platform	Toyota CP platform
Engine(s)	1.5L 108 hp (81 kW) I4 1NZ-FE
Transmission(s)	4-speed automatic 5-speed manual
Wheelbase	93.3 in (2370 mm)
Length	163.2 in (4145 mm) (1999-2002) 164.8 in (4186 mm) (2003-05)
Width	65.4 in (1661 mm)
Height	59.4 in (1509 mm)
Related	Toyota Vitz

The Toyota Platz and the Toyota Echo sedan are small vehicles manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation based on the Toyota Vitz, the vehicle's hatchback variant. The first generation car was known as the Platz in Japan and Echo in North America.

[edit] First generation (1999–2005)

Introduced in North America in 2000 as a sedan or coupé, The Echo's running gear is shared with the Toyota bB and Ist, sold in the United States as the Scion xA and xB, and the Japan-only Toyota Will Vi. The same CP platform is the base for the Japanese-only Probox and Succeed wagons.

In the United States, the Echo was not successful, despite the excellent fuel economy and compact design. The initial year of almost 50,000 sales was promising, but the Echo sold just half that many in 2003. It was an element of Toyota Project Genesis, a failed effort to bring younger buyers to the marque in the United States. Despite poor American sales, it sold in very high volumes in Canada, where smaller cars are much more popular than in the US. In Canada, Toyota also offered a 3-door version of the Echo, which was identical to the European-market Toyota Vitz. It was the predecessor to the current North American Toyota Yaris, sharing many identical features, such as being Toyota's entry-level car at the time of its "existence", and the odd (and somewhat controversial) center placement of the speedometer and gauges, as opposed to in front of the steering wheel.

2003-2005 Toyota Echo sedan

In Australia, the 1999-2004 Echo was assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 as providing "average" protection for its occupants in the event of a crash.[1]

In some parts of Southeast Asia (not including Hong Kong and Japan), a modified version of the Platz with different body panels is sold under the name Toyota Vios.

[edit] US sales

• 2000 - 48,876
• 2001 - 42,464
• 2002 - 30,859
• 2003 - 26,167
• 2004 - 3,899
• 2005 - 1,544