Toyota has been selling the hatchback version of the
Corolla in the UK as the Auris since 2007. Then, Toyota felt that its
long-standing global name has become a bit dull for that important European
market, and a new name would reinvigorate the family hatchback.
Fast forward 10 years and the Auris is in need of
some change. That’s coming very soon in the shape of an all-new model, and it
will be once again called the Toyota Corolla. According to Autocar, the company
hopes that the next-generation Corolla will turn around the falling sales of
the Auris, which has the almighty Volkswagen Golf in its class, along with the
Opel Astra, Peugeot 308 and Ford Focus. Toyota UK delivered 13,983 units in
Jan-Nov 2017, compared with 16,528 units in 2016.
The current generation of the international Corolla
has been around since 2013, and both sedan and five-door hatchback bodystyles
of the upcoming full model change have been spotted testing. The UK mag says
that a wagon replacement for today’s Auris Touring Sports is likely to be on
the cards.
The report’s source adds that the new Corolla, which
will sit on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform, is likely to
come with hybrid and regular petrol engines. The electrified option mentioned
is an updated version of the 1.8L powertrain in the current Auris Hybrid, while
the petrol is a 1.2 litre turbo unit.
It’s unlikely that there will be a diesel option for
the new Corolla hatchback. Once the most popular choice in Europe, the continent
has turned against oil burners for being NOx polluters, and Toyota UK hacked
the Auris diesel at the end of 2017 having just sold 651 units all year.
The report adds that Toyota is also considering to
discontinue the Avensis in the UK. Once again, it’s due to low sales – only
3,302 units of the Ford Mondeo-sized sedan – facelifted in 2015 – was sold from
Jan-Nov 2017, down from 5,133 in 2016.
The Avensis issue is not just about it being old
and/or dull, though – the Mondeo class has under attack from premium compact
execs (BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class) and SUVs for some time now. This
raises the possibility of Toyota bringing the Corolla sedan to the UK as well,
to partly fill the boot-shaped gap left by the Avensis.
Cr : Paultan
