
Wagons now make up a quarter of compact family car sales across Europe, with rivals like Hyundai and Kia picking up strong market share in the variant segment.
Toyota has already said a third of its Auris sales will be hybrid in the coming years, and providing a wagon will bring them back into a sales area where they will have a perceived advantage.
The key compact wagon players in Ireland are the variants of the Hyundai i30 and the Kia cee'd, the new generation of the latter which goes on sale here early next month.