To cash in on SUV boom, Toyota to drop some models, reshape US line-up

Among the models under the microscope: the subcompact Yaris, whose US sales have plummeted this year

Toyota Motor Corp. may drop some underperforming models in the US, its head of North American operations said.

“We are taking a hard look at all the segments we compete in, to make sure we are competing in profitable segments and that products that we sell have strategic value to the brand,” Jim Lentz said Tuesday.

Models under the microscope include fuel-sipping cars that have lost out to sport-utility vehicles, Lentz said-such as the subcompact Yaris, whose US sales have plummeted this year. 

Also, Toyota could sell fewer variants of the Prius hybrid in the US, he said, and scale