Can't find any 1:43 models of the Yaris - not surprising really as it's so ugly, no-one wants to look at it, even in miniature ("Daddy why did you buy me such a horrid toy - it gives me scary dreams?"). Have you tried Toyota dealer showrooms, in case there's a promotional model in their official merchandise range?

Come on, it is not so ugly... I ask that because we ordered one
We ordered a Yaris Hybrid to replace both my 208 and my girlfriend's Yaris (previous generation), as we never use both cars at the same time.
I didn't really like the previous models, but I find the current one quite nice.

From Toyota directly,
https://collection.toyota.be/toyota-collection/model-cars
there is the GR model:
https://collection.toyota.be/toyota-collection/model-cars/road-car-gr-yaris-red-1-43
I could get that one though, still better than nothing... But quite expensive for not exactly the right one (GR vs regular/hybrid)
And I think that this one can be found cheaper elsewhere (I saw prices around half that price I think).

Depends who made them for Toyota (might be Spark for those Yarises??) but after a few months of exclusive official use, normal retail releases are often allowed under maker's own name or brand, usually cheaper and in different/wider choice of liveries. Also dealer showrooms can offer a fairly rapid turnover of merchandise lines, so start discounting sooner than expected. No idea how Toyota operate, but I've found several clearance bargains from eg Mercedes/Mazda/Peugeot/Citroen/Alfa/Volvo showrooms over the years of relatively new lines.

Maybe Mazda do a scale model 2 Hybrid?
https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda2-hybrid/

Indeed, it could be close enough (better than the Yaris GR)

As it's not even an LHD version, and given the incredibly expensive price (192 euro is nearly three times the price of a Spark), it could be from one of these japanese resin brands, such as Hi-Story or Ignition.




If those manufacturers are actually distributed in Europe, that is. Most japanese brands aren't. Minichamps handles Kyosho, but apart from that... Even Ebbro has no presence in Europe anymore.




That means you're able to find scale models at dealers ? And they put them on clearance after a while ? Wow, the UK is really a different place. I don't have much experience with dealerships over here, but from what I read on forums, most of them don't want to order promotional scale models to display in their showroom, because they know nobody will buy them, and they'll be stuck with outdated merchandise for years. Basically, they're car salesmen, not providers of lifestyle accessories.

I do have recent experience with Mazda, though. The small dealership I went to service my car had zero merchandise on display, apart from car care products. It's been taken over by a bigger dealership group during the pandemic, so I went there last year. They did have a couple of scale model cars in Mazda packaging.

Not in a display case in the showroom, but on a shelf. At the back. With other assorted spare parts. I was probably the first customer to notice them. And they were humongously expensive.

1] The Spark suggestion for Yaris models came from a few labelled as such on ebay example, another - or if they don't show, search for "toyota yaris spark" in the toys and games category and see what pops up among all the rally liveries.
2] I haven't really been showroom model hunting for a couple of years, so things may have changed more recently, but occasional forays before that showed wide range of scenarios, very varied strategies etc, so no consistency. As you say, some showrooms just not interested so don't have them, even when the brand offers a big selection. Others do, but they're regarded as parts and accessories, so salesmen are blank and only the parts/servicing desk tucked in the corner knows about them. If they're openly displayed, it's often in a cabinet with all the other branded merchandise products (jackets, umbrellas, T-shirts, flasks or whatever). Very occasionally a salesman is a model enthusiast, so curates a proper display as a specific showroom feature.
3] The mindset of simply being merchandise is a useful context to understand the logic. Many firms revamp their merch ranges every 1-2 years, and drop things off the list fairly abruptly. So obsolete stuff is no longer on the system, and they clear orphans quickly. Add in the factor that full-size cars are often tweaked on similar time scales (even if only trivial things like new lights, wheels, colours, trim names etc), and showrooms dislike having miniatures which don't exactly match the gleaming full-sizes. So models can get relegated quickly.
4] There is another route through online/ebay in UK at least which is to find motor factors with bulk parts warehouses across several brands (which may be related or completely diverse). Example - Rimmer Brothers for JLR stuff (nothing very spectacular at the moment, but a few years ago they cleared out some brilliant Century Dragon models, including E-Type Jags and 1st Land Rover HUE 166 for £20 each). Another is Partsworld UK. A few of these advertise on ebay if you can navigate through the categories to car parts/merchandise.
5] Some anecdotes to illustrate randomness of the system.
[i] Some years back I had time to kill near a hospital after taking someone in for appointments, and it had a Merc showroom nearby, so I went in. Reasonable bunch of models (Minichamps, Spark etc) but £50-60, so I didn't indulge. 3 months later same errand, went back to showroom and those models were now off-catalogue, so offered to me at £15 each, including heritage collection (230 SL Pagoda, AMG 300SEL 6.9 racer)
[ii] A Volvo dealer with a few models on display, so chatting to an interested salesman who suddenly piped up that they had a Nissan franchise until giving it up a couple of months earlier and had some models left over in a cupboard. So I ended up with 5 Kyosho Nissan for £30 and he discounted a couple of Volvos way below the parts list price because it was near end-of-year stock-taking.
[iii] A Nissan dealer where I was looking for Z models, had just had a batch in of models including a revised Note, which wasn't yet announced in full-size. So I got one of them a month before launch.
[iv] Cheap showroom ranges (before any clearance discounting): Fiat, Abarth, Alfa, MINI, Vauxhall. Sometimes cheap: Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Nissan, Jeep. The Fiats and Alfas are more toys than collectables, but still fun to have.

So it can be an adventure with unexpected nuggets in the dust. Trading estates with clusters of showrooms near major roundabouts/junctions are often worth targetting for an hour or so to see what they offer.

I still think continental car dealers (at least Belgium and France) are just not interested in selling merchandise. I have seen dealer promotional models on clearance, but not at dealers.

- A few years ago, a fairly large stock of Nissan 1/43 models (mostly Micra C+C, Navara, NV200 & 400) was sold off, and since then I've seen them at swap meets or even at motorway service station shops.

- Renault- and Citroën-branded stuff (models, keyholders, t-shirts, smartphone accessories) has been repeatedly offloaded at NOZ stores in France. You could describe NOZ as discount stores, but when you visit one, you have the feeling it's really the last step before landfill. Ugh.

- Speaking of Renault, last year, a whole range of classic 1/43 models popped up in various online boutiques. Most were sold in boxes as well as in cheap plastic blisters, just like the ones sold as Hachette part work models two decades ago.

It turns out the blister models were made, not for the general public, but for dealers eager to display a small Renault timeline/museum in a corner of their showroom. Unfortunately, not enough dealers were that eager, and and the leftovers were offloaded.

The solution would be to sell branded merchandise online only, and some do, but they don't seem to advertise their efforts enough.

Bought a car for those who don't really know where they want to go...

Funny, i have the impression i should have at least a clue about this one ...

yesterday was yellow car day
( i previously bought the LM002 but failed to find a second one )

I don't normally do Hot Wheels, but this jumped into my supermarket basket the other day when I wasn't looking

and it looked so ... um ... dinky sitting there with my jars of Marmite that I just had to take it home.

Meanwhile, times are hard and the servants have to be paid, so I sold some models to a dealer, but made the mistake of wandering around his shelves while he priced up my offerings, which meant I ended going home with some new models and to some extent defeated the purpose of the exercise

Spark Mclaren M6GT, Oxford Austin Heavy 12, IXO partwork Ebro B-35 fire engine (Spanish build Thames ET6), Auto Pilen Authi Mini 1275 GT

The Mclaren is an absolute stunner

which I've totally fallen in love with, but the surprise was the Mini which looked mildly interesting but fairly ordinary, but when I got it home, discovered it was full of surprises

with everything opening. And i'm quite pleased with the olde Austin and the Ebro too. However the servants are not very happy ....

Be careful dsl, once you adopt one of those little Honda , there is another one that follows not long after...

Indeed. I got the green Honda but couldn't resist the white one when I saw it in Germany a few weeks ago.

Reawakening this one - looks as if Solido will soon release a 1:43 diecast GR in Karmina Red - catalogue # SOL4311102 - I expect it will be just as hideously ugly as the very expensive Spark models, but a lot cheaper - UK guide price may be £28.

Thanks, sadly it is the GR and not the regular model, but it is indeed much cheaper. I'll try to search for that one

I've seen Solido's recent 1/43 range sold at 25,99€ in a french hypermarket. I wasn't aware of the GR Yaris being announced, and the 2022-2023 release list is already long, so it's possible it'll be on sale next year. I'll keep an eye.

Thanks

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005004816928692.html
Not the right color nor the right scale (1:30 vs 1:43) but at least it is the right model
There is progress...

By the way, I see that I didn't update my avatar here on the forum... I thought I already did that

63 € for a promotional die-cast in an odd scale !? Yikes !

Yes that seems a little expensive, and anyway being at the wrong scale I would not buy it