Toyota Fortuner 2018 range expansion not on the cards

There are no plans for a range expansion of the Toyota Fortuner 2018 range to mirror the new trio of models offered in the HiLux 2018 line-up, according to Toyota Australia.

The Toyota HiLux line-up will soon be expanded to include three new models: the SR-based Rugged, and the SR5-based Rugged X and Rogue. All three models have different buyers in mind, and with the HiLux ranking as the company’s best-selling model, it seems clear that Toyota wants to take advantage of that.

The Fortuner could use some help in gaining more sales, as it has floundered against more popular competitors.

But the Fortuner – the HiLux-based seven-seat off-road SUV that is built in the same plant in Thailand – won’t mirror its pick-up sibling with special models to help add incremental sales traction.

And – in what is pretty much a first for Toyota SUV – the Fortuner could use some help in gaining more sales. It has floundered against more popular competitor rugged SUVs like the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Isuzu MU-X and Ford Everest. But its main rival is one from within: the Toyota Prado.

The two model lines cross each others paths a little too closely, it seems, even though Toyota took the knife to Fortuner pricing late in 2017 in a bid to enhance its appeal in the marketplace, where strong drive-away deals are commonplace – namely for the Isuzu. 

For a little bit of context, the Fortuner managed just 2851 sales in 2017, well behind the likes of the MU-X (8087 sales), Pajero Sport (7618) and Everest (4607). And, like we said, the Prado smashed all of them, with 15,982 sales.

"We have no plans to announce on Fortuner,” said Toyota Australia product planning and development general manager, Rod Ferguson, when asked if the company could consider offering more models of Fortuner to attract different buyers.

The new Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X models added to the Toyota HiLux 2018 range will hit showrooms in the second quarter.

"But we’ll continue to look at all of our model lines to see if there are ways we can enhance our product, but right now we’re focused on HiLux,” Ferguson said, before stating that the HiLux’s popularity in the market allows the kind of investment – both in terms of time and money – in developing model-specific derivatives.

Check out all 2018 Toyota Fortuner price and spec info here.

Would Rugged, Rugged X or Rogue versions of the Fortuner add to its appeal? Tell us what you think in the comments below.