TOYOTA has stepped up its fight to conquer the fleet market with the unveiling of its long-awaited Carina E replacement Avensis. Targeted directly at the likes of the Mondeo, Vectra and Laguna, Toyota is hoping the Avensis combination of smooth styling, high specification and an impressive safety package will win the hearts of fleet operators and become an aspirational car for user-choosers.

Year to date Toyota fleet sales figures are up 18.5% and the company is enjoying its highest market share of 3.4%. However, Avensis is possibly the company's most important launch yet for the fleet sector and will hold the key to whether it can gain a strong foothold in the hotly-fought medium car sector.

Toyota GB corporate sales general manager Simon Elliott said: 'Avensis gives us another major opportunity for growth in the fleet sector. It is the big one for us. We want Avensis to become a key player in the fleet market, where upper medium class vehicles account for more than 34 per cent of total sales. We think the best-seller is likely to be the 1.8 GS five-door Liftback, although we also believe that turbodiesel versions will account for about 13 per cent of volume.'

The Avensis, built in Burnaston, Derbyshire, will go on sale on January 1 in three body styles - liftback, saloon and estate, and four trims, S, GS, GLS and CDX. On-the-road prices will range from £13,845 to £20,635. Toyota says the car is all-new from the platform upwards - with the exception of the engines which are 'tweaked' versions of the Carina E units.