Toyota’s new Yaris range, due in showrooms by the end of next year, will not include a Verso MPV/estate car version.

In Britain the high-roofed Verso is only generating 6% of Yaris sales this year, a declining share, unlike equivalent Corolla and Avensis variants.

Launched in 1999, the Yaris Verso was pitched at younger, ‘active’ fashion-conscious customers who, marketing managers maintained, would load up the rear cabin with mountain bikes. But the average buyer’s age runs close to 60 years and its eccentric styling has polarised opinion.

Meanwhile three-door variants of Toyota’s Rav4 are unlikely to appear when the second-generation softroader is replaced around the same time next year.

Company sources suggest that a standalone product will substitute for the three-door Rav4.

Up until the end of October Toyota sold 1,210 Yaris Versos while last year’s total volume was 1,478 units, 7% of Yaris sales.