Back in 2002 Toyota teamed up with arch-rival GM to produce the Toyota Matrix, which GM sold as the Pontiac Vibe. The General soon shut down the Pontiac brand, leaving Toyota to carry on by itself, replacing the first-gen Matrix with a rebadged version of the European-market Auris. Now that a new Auris has been launched overseas, and a new Corolla (on which it is based) is slated for introduction soon, the Matrix is looking more than a little outdated, but Toyota may not replace it.

This according to a report from Automotive News, which quotes Toyota's US boss Bill Fay as saying "If we don't have the Matrix, it won't be the end of the world." The statement falls short of an official announcement, but indicates what the Japanese automaker is thinking about the North American-exclusive hatchback. Fay also indicated that, while Honda is making a crossover based on the Fit to slot in below the CR-V, the similarly-sized RAV4 is as small as Toyota is willing to go in that segment.