Background and Identification

The Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car sold by Toyota beginning in 1999. Up to 2019, Toyota used the Yaris nameplate on export variants of various Japanese-market models, though some markets received the same vehicles under the Toyota Echo name through 2005. Beginning in 2020, the Yaris nameplate came into use in Japan and replaced the Vitz nameplate. In North America, the Yaris sedan was introduced in 2015 and the Yaris hatchback sold in the United States between 2019 and 2020 are rebadged versions of the Mazda2, which is developed and manufactured by Mazda.

The first-generation Toyota Yaris models were marketed between 1999 and 2005 as both the “Yaris” and the “Echo,” depending on the market. The vehicle was available as a three- or five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan, and a two-door coupe (only between 1999 and 2005). The two-door coupe version was generally called the Toyota Echo in the North American market.

The hatchback versions of the Toyota Yaris derive from the Toyota Vitz, which is sold on the Japanese market. The coupe and sedan versions derive from the Toyota Platz, which is also sold on the Japanese market. In the United States, the Toyota Echo sold almost 50,000 units in its first year. In Canada, Toyota sold the three- and five-door hatchback versions of the Vitz badged as the Echo beginning in 2004. The coupe version of the Echo remained on sale in the United States until the 2005 model year in addition to the sedan, though the Echo coupe was dropped after 2003 in Canada. The hatchback versions of the Echo were never sold in the United States.

Toyota vehicles in the Americas can be identified by the Toyota emblem, which depicts three overlapping ellipses.

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