12th Generation of Legendary Toyota Corolla production starts in Turkiye

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye (TMMT) is the first overseas plant to start production of the new generation Corolla Sedan

• 50 new export countries to be added, total export destinations reaches 150
• Euro 230 million invested for the NG Corolla project, total investment reaches 2.08 Billion €
• TMMT becomes the hybrid base in Turkey with both Toyota C-HR & Corolla models being produced in the country

Today, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye (TMMT) held an official ceremony to mark the start of production of the 12thgeneration Corolla at its manufacturing plant in Sakarya.

The new generation Corolla line-off ceremony was attended by Turkiye Vice President Fuat Oktay,  Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank and Minister of Agriculture Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli. Also Mr.Akio Miyajima, Ambassador of Japan in Turkiye, Sakarya, Governor Ahmet Hamdi Nayır and other local authorities were present. Toyota Motor Europe President & CEO Dr. Johan van Zyl also attended to the ceremony.

The new Toyota Corolla Sedan, “Made in Turkiye” is the 12th generation of the legendary Toyota model. Continuing to manufacture the Toyota C-HR, the first hybrid and SUV     model in Turkiye, Toyota Motor Manufacturing becomes the hybrid base of Turkiye by manufacturing its second hybrid model with the New Corolla.

In the ceremony, Vice President Fuat Oktay said ‘‘I thank and congratulate everyone who contributed in this project. I hope that new Corolla Sedan model which is produced by using the high technology at this plant in Sakarya would be beneficial for our country and entire world. With the new Corolla, more than two-thirds of the vehicles manufactured at the Toyota Plant in Sakarya will have hybrid technology. Vehicles produced in Toyota Turkey Sakarya plant are being exported to 150 countries is also important for us”

The new Corolla doesn’t only inherit 53 years of Corolla DNA, but also attains upgrading advanced performance and high quality driving by being reborn as TNGA. TNGA allows to create cars that are even more exciting and rewarding to drive, safer and more stylish.

New Corolla Sedan is available with two different engine options. While the self-charging 1.8-liter hybrid engine option generates 122 HP power, it allows zero-emission driving for more than 50% of the daily use. The 1.6-liter petrol engine provides both fuel efficiency and performance all at once. The engine is combined with a 6-speed manual gearbox or an optional CVT automatic and generates 132 HP power. The New Corolla Sedan will be fitted as standard with the latest Toyota Safety Sense active safety package.

Speaking at the ceremony Dr Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of TME said: “Today, we are very proud to line-off another model in this factory, the 12th generation New Corolla Sedan. For the first time, the Corolla Sedan is also offered as a Hybrid and Hybrids are at the heart of our European and global strategy. Alongside the Toyota C-HR, we expect the Corolla Sedan to be an important contributor to our target of achieving 50% Hybrid sales mix by 2020.  

Mr. Toshihiko Kudo, President and CEO of TMMT said: “First, let me express my special thanks and regards to President Erdoğan, Dear Ministers and all of you for the participation to our special day. We are very happy to contribute to a successful future for the Turkish economy through production, export, investment and employment. We are striving to do our business in parallel with the contribution to the society. We prepared for the manufacturing of the 12th generation Corolla with the same excitement we had for the first car produced here in 1994, which was the 7th generation Corolla.” Highlighting that this decision demonstrates the trust Toyota has in Turkiye, Mr. Kudo said: “We successfully transferred the experience obtained in hybrid technology and TNGA with the Toyota C-HR to the New Corolla.  As Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye, we have the highest manufacturing volume among Toyota's plants in Europe. We are contributing to our economy greatly by exporting 90% of the production to around 150 different countries across the world, using almost our entire annual production capacity of 280.000 units.”

About Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye (TMMT):

The story of Toyota in Turkiye in Sakarya began with a ground breaking ceremony in 1992. Only after 2 years, in 1994, Toyota manufacturing operation started successfully w/ the 7th generation Corolla for the local market only. In 2002, in parallel with expanding production, TMMT started export operations to Europe. Until 2007, TMMT continued to produce and export the 8th and 9th generation Corolla sedan and wagon models. After a short break, this legendary car, the Corolla returned back to its home, TMMT, in 2013. Now, TMMT is producing the two most preferred Toyota models, the Corolla & the Toyota C-HR.