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14 July 2018 | AutoData LAUNCH » YARIS N othing less than two decades af- ter being seen for the first time, at a Geneva Motor Show, Yaris finally appeared in the national market as a vehicle produced in Brazil. So much time has passed that themodel now is no longer an entry-level vehicle: it has grown and gained premium compact hatch and se- dan status in the same line of Polo, Virtus, Argo and Cronos, just to mention the latest models in this market range. Produced in the same factory built in Sorocaba, SP, to manufacture Etios, now the Toyota entry model, Yaris inherited many benefits from its younger brother, reveals Celso Simomura, vice president of purchasing: “Around 70% of the suppliers of the Yaris are the same for Etios”. Toyota invested R$ 1 billion to produce the model in Brazil. Yaris reaches the ma- rket with 75% of national content already, divided by 72 suppliers, six of them have never worked with Toyota before. Two of them were installed inside the supplier’s plant, located a few kilometers from the By André Barros THE YOUNGEST SON IS THE MIDDLE ONE The Yaris mission: customers who leave Etios but still cannot afford a Corolla