Ed Laukes: GR and TRD Performance may easily co-exist in the USA

As you probably know, Toyota has two in-house customization shops that handle the orders of the more discerning customers. Most other car companies have one such subdivision at most. Which way is better?

Let us review our options first. TRD Performance stands for ‘Toyota Racing Development’, and its motto is releasing performance mods based on the most popular cars of the Japanese marque, such as the Tacoma pickup truck or the 4Runner SUV.

Three years ago, the company established another sub-brand called Gazoo Racing. This one enjoys a distinctively more ‘badass’ reputation, producing extensive and expensive conversions like the GR Yaris depicted here, complete with 257 hp (192 kW) under the hood and a custom AWD system.

According to Edward Laukes, Toyota Marketing VP in North America, the two tuners can peacefully co-exist in the same markets without cannibalizing each other’s sales. The reason is trivial: TRD produces cars with only slight differences from their stock counterparts, whereas Gazoo Racing goes all the way for individuality and originality.