Analysis: Toyota Dear Qin sedan and hatch twins

Toyota’s exhibit at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show was more about displaying concepts of upcoming products than unveiling any new production vehicles. While the Yundong Shuangqing China-only concept hybrid isn’t of much interest to us as of now, the concepts that did attract our attention are the Dear Qin twins.

Toyota isn’t speaking much about these concepts apart from touting the fact that their metamorphosis will result into a compact sedan and hatchback for the global market by 2013. Now that is a really short period of time for such radical concepts to transform into production vehicles – unless of course, they are based on an existing platform. Even the Etios twins that were shown in a production-ready concept form at the 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi, took a good twelve months to see in the light of the day!

Though Toyota hasn’t revealed any information yet, we strongly believe that the Dear Qin concepts shown in Beijing could be based on the Etios twins that are sold in India. The Etios sedan and hatchback were designed for India and other ‘emerging’ markets, based on the market research that the Japanese carmaker conducted over a span of few years. However, in our road tests of both the Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback, we did point out that the quality of materials and the overall design felt too mediocre as compared to the robust engineering that underpins the two cars. However, to market these cars in the ‘developed’ markets, Toyota will need a more premium package – and that is where the Dear Qin concepts could come in.

As can be seen in the video posted below, the Toyota Dear Qin concepts showcase a new design philosophy that looks sporty and youthful. While it does remind one of the Chevrolet Volt or the Opel Ampera, it also gives us an insight into the new design direction that Toyota will be headed in, in this decade. It will be interesting to see how it takes form in production trim though. 

When launched we expect the Dear Qin twins to be positioned between the Yaris hatchback and the Corolla sedan. The engines could remain similar to what we get in the Etios twins, however they could be spec-ed differently as per the markets that they will be sold in. Toyota has mentioned to the press in Beijing that these concepts will be front-wheel drive models and that further cements our belief that these concepts are based on the Etios twins. Stay tuned for more!