Toyota says there is room for both its TRD and GR performance brands in the United States.
For more than 40 years, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) has been responsible for the Japanese marque’s performance models as well as off-road variants of vehicles like the Tacoma and 4Runner while also recently launching sporty Camry and Avalon models. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Gazoo Racing (GR) is the new kid on the block and has most notably launched the GR Supra and the GR Yaris in some overseas markets.
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Speaking with Automobile Magazine, Toyota’s group vice president of marketing Ed Laukes said the two brands will not step on each other’s toes.
“In the end, TRD and GR can coexist. TRD has a long lineage with the trucks that we sell… and the American consumer likes the TRD brand and it has some strong heritage in North America,” he said, before adding that the launch of the TRD Camry and TRD Avalon prove the carmaker thinks TRD is here to stay in the United States.
Automobile Magazine notes that if TRD and GR are to co-exist peacefully, Toyota will need to ensure that GR-branded vehicles remain bespoke and aren’t simply performance-based derivatives of existing Toyota products as those models should be left to TRD.
Elsewhere, Laukes was asked if the exciting new GR Yaris has any chance of being sold in the United States. He responded by saying it’s “under study” and that Toyota’s product planners are thinking about if selling the hot hatch in the U.S. makes business sense. However, a couple of weeks ago, another Toyota source told CarScoops that there are no plans to homologate and sell the car in North America.