1966 was a very eventful year. Indira Gandhi became the first woman Prime Minister of India, Luna 10 became the first man-made object to enter lunar orbit, England won its first and so far only FIFA World Cup and Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution in China. Another important event took place in October, 1966 which has changed the automobile industry. The birth of the world’s most selling car: Toyota Corolla.
Toyota has managed to ship 40.72 million units of the Corolla since its inception. In fact, as per the company’s analysis of Polk new vehicle registration data, which captures 96 per cent of global new vehicle volumes, the Corolla is the world’s best-selling vehicle model for 2013 with global registrations of 10,98,524 units.
This figure includes Corolla sedan and other variations in name such as Corolla Axio, Corolla Altis and Corolla EX 4-door sedans which are the various trim levels of the 4-door Corolla sedan sold in various global regions, including Japan.
The Corolla has seen a near constant 5 per cent growth every year, come rain or snow. The car is sold in around 150 countries and is probably the most recognised Toyota badged car. Toyota sold 3,00,000 units of the Corolla in United States in 2013.
Toyota currently manufacturers Corolla in its factories based in Japan, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, United States and Venezuela. The Corollas have previously also been manufactured in Australia and the United Kingdom.
There is actually an interesting dispute here over the largest selling car for the year 2013. Ford claims its Focus is the highest seller whereas Toyota has quite smartly counted all the related Corolla models to come to the conclusion that it has the largest selling model in its kitty, by a whisker!
Nonetheless, the new Corolla is soon making its way into India as well with 27th May as its tentative launch date, however, it will continue with the same terribly underpowered 1.4L diesel motor (more details).
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