NAGOYA, Japan — Toyota Motor plans to produce the next-generation Corolla in China beginning in 2028, using a vehicle platform compatible with different powertrain types to gain flexibility in a slowing market where it is struggling.
FAW Toyota Motor, a joint venture between Toyota and China FAW Group, will manufacture the model. The new Corolla will be the first to use “multipathway” vehicle architecture that can accommodate electric, hybrid, gasoline or other powertrains.
Toyota already uses the platform for some vehicles, including models under the Lexus brand. The introduction for the Corolla is expected to speed up development and lower costs, while also enabling flexibility to adapt to changes in demand for different powertrain types.
The automaker first unveiled the next-gen Corolla concept car at the Japan Mobility Show in fall last year.
“The Earth is vast, and the world is diverse. Roads differ, and so do energy realities,” then-President Koji Sato said at the time.
In addition to a battery EV version, Sato, who is now vice chairman, had indicated that the plan would be to offer multiple alternative powertrains, including hybrid and gasoline versions.
Toyota’s sales in China are struggling. In August, the automaker sold 118,449 vehicles, including the Lexus brand, a 23% decline from the same month the year before. EVs and other new energy vehicles were once growth drivers in China, but now domestic new car sales are slowing. Intense competition is pushing down prices and eroding profitability.
In addition to building longer-range, next-generation EVs for the Lexus brand in China starting next year, Toyota will manufacture extended-range electric vehicles — EVs with an onboard combustion solely for power generation.
Meanwhile, the automaker is also moving toward advances in vehicle electrification and intelligence, including restructuring two local joint ventures.
Source: Nikkei Asia