Press Release
A legendary global model
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Worldwide best seller
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Reputation for durability and reliability
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Now with more emotional appeal
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A class above
The Toyota Corolla is a legendary icon for the brand and this new 10th generation Corolla will follow in the footsteps of a remarkable family of highly successful previous models.
Since launch in 1966, the Corolla has been a major global success for Toyota. Even in 1967, more than 15,000 Corollas were being exported and sold on world markets. Today, Corolla is produced in 16 countries, spread over five continents, and is sold in 140 markets across the world.
Since its launch in 1966, Corolla has been the best selling car in Japan for 36 of the last 40 years and almost 32 million units have been sold globally, which also makes Corolla the world’s most sold model. In 2005, The Corolla was also the world’s best selling car with 1,400,000 sales around the world of which 850,000 were sedan body type. With the launch
of the new generation C-segment sedan model, Toyotaaims to take sales in this segment back over one million worldwide sales a year.
Corolla has always been recognised as one of the best engineered and most durable cars on the market. This core strength has been maintained, indeed built on, for the new generation. But new Corolla adds a more emotional dimension through premium quality, comfort, more sporty styling and excellent driving pleasure.
Chief engineer, Toshi Ezaki, explains: “Idecided that we needed to accept the challenge of creating a car that continues to offer the traditional values of Corolla but also incorporate something new. The new Corolla marks a step change in quality from previous generations by virtually closing the gap between its C-segment class and the higher D-segment. Toyota is confident that the new Corolla will definitely create a new class up in its category. As soon as one sees it, touches it, feels it and drives it, one can perceive the difference in quality and comfort.�
New Corolla benefits from being designed from the outset as a sedan. Although C-segment sales in Europe are declining slightly, the sub segment sedan bodytype is growing and is expected to continue to grow. This is due to the popularity of sedan models in emerging marketsin Eastern Europe such as Russia or Turkey.
The Corolla sales objective for 2007 has been set at 89,000 unitswhich is 22,000 unitsabove the 2006 sales forecast. In 2008, on full year basis, the sales target has been set to 100,000 unitswhich will make the Corolla sedan a truly European player.
Unlike the hatchback sub segment (where diesel plays a significant role) almost 80% of new Corolla sales are expected to be petrol where the new 1.6-litre dual VVT-i engine will be the feature model of the range and will play a significant role with a sales mix target of over 60% of the total sales.
