The development of the car began in 2013, led by Toyota chief engineer Hiroyuki Koba,[3] sharing the TNGA-C (GA-C) platform with the E210 series Corolla[4][5] and positioned between the Yaris Cross and Corolla Cross in Toyota's crossover SUV range.

[7] It went on sale in Europe, Australia, South Africa and North America in early 2017, and in Southeast Asia, China and Taiwan in 2018.

The Thai-built C-HR with 1.8-litre 2ZR-FBE or 2ZR-FE engine is sold in certain Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

[citation needed] For the Indonesian market, the C-HR was launched on 10 April 2018, initially with a 1.8-litre 2ZR-FE petrol engine.

The remaining sole hybrid variant received Toyota Safety Sense on 27 May 2022 and sold until May 2023.

The IZOA features a front bumper grille with horizontal lines instead of mesh on the C-HR.

The 54.3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack is claimed to deliver a range of up to 400 km (250 miles) as per NEDC.

[11] In late 2020, the comparatively expensive (being a fully imported model from Thailand) C-HR was discontinued in Malaysia, leading to declining sales.

The gearbox for the base model is a choice of 6-speed manual transmission or CVT with 7-speed simulated gear.

[13] Unique for the North American C-HR is the larger 2.0-litre 3ZR-FAE naturally aspirated petrol engine which is matched to a CVT gearbox.

In North America, the C-HR was originally planned to be marketed under the Scion brand, before Toyota discontinued the marque.

[19] The facelifted C-HR was unveiled in Japan, Europe, Australia, and North America in October 2019.

[27][28] The C-HR now features the new design language of Toyota, with C-shaped headlights that can be found on the Prius XW60 and the Aygo X Concept.

[26] This generation will not be sold in North America, but will be replaced with the Corolla Cross, which is a C-segment vehicle about 100 mm (3.9 in) longer.