Update, Feb 9: This article has been updated to include additional context, and a comment from Toyota France.
The Toyota GR Yaris stands out as one of the most thrilling hot hatches of our time. With its true-to-form performance capabilities, it’s a compelling choice for enthusiasts that’s hard to miss. However, if you’re French, the allure of this hot hatch must be exceptionally compelling to warrant acquisition.
That’s because in France, customers won’t just have to fight over the limited quantities of the latest, facelifted GR Yaris; they’ll also have to pay a pretty penny. The French government’s emissions tax scale means that some versions of the car will effectively have a six-figure price tag.
The crazy total starts with the GR Yaris’s already high MSRP. In France, the rally-bred hatch starts at €46,300 (around US$49,800 at current exchange rates) when it’s equipped with the manual gearbox, and rises to €48,800 (around US$52,500) for the new edition with the automatic transmission.
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Screenshots of Toyota France’s product page
While that’s already a lot to pay for a Toyota Yaris even if it’s a hand-built rally special, it’s just the start. Because of the GR version’s high output engine, examples equipped with a manual transmission emit 190 grams of CO2 per kilometer, and the ones with the automatic transmission emits 210 grams per kilometer.
That puts the GR Yaris is some of the highest brackets for France’s CO2 tax. As first noticed by Caradisiac, this means that French buyers opting for the GR Yaris fitted with a manual transmission will have to pay an additional €45,990 (approximately US$49,500). Those opting for the automatic version will face the highest possible amount, €60,000 (around US$64,600).
A Toyota France spokesperson clarified to Carscoops that the emissions figures it shared are preliminary (it wanted to open pre-sales for the car), and that the official figures will only be confirmed in June. The company stated that it believes these figures represent a “worst case” scenario for the car, but one that is a genuine possibility.
Although the number of grams of CO2 per kilometer the car emits shouldn’t be all that different from previous years, the tax bill for GR Yaris buyers will be. Previously, the French government capped the number at half the value of the car but, as of January 1, 2024, that is no longer the case, which is bad news for hot hatch lovers.
Despite the hefty tax bill, the company is offering 300 GR Yarises to the French market. This allocation suggests that it believes this number should meet demand, despite the price more than doubling to a total of €92,290 (approximately US$99,300) for the model equipped with the manual transmission and €108,800 (around US$117,100) for the one equipped with the automatic transmission.
While we are undeniably fans of the GR Yaris here at Carscoops, but that’s an awful lot (albeit, not an unprecedented amount) to fork out for such a car. However, we’re curious – would you be willing to invest that kind of money in a hot hatch, regardless of how impressive it may be?
