Toyota Corolla

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The worldwide popularity of the Toyota Corolla - the world's biggest-selling motor vehicle - is reflected here in New Zealand where 200,000 new Corollas have been sold since its introduction nearly 40 years ago.

Bob Field with new generation Corolla

at the National Customer Centre

Globally, more than 32 million Corollas have been produced since the first model went on sale in Japan in 1966.

The first generation model was available in New Zealand from 1969 where 14 passenger units were sold and Corolla has now reached a cumulative sales total of over 200,000 units.

Corolla has been the mainstay of Toyota's passenger car sales in New Zealand and accounts for around 74 per cent of car sales worldwide.

Toyota's Chairman and Managing Director Bob Field said, "The Toyota Corolla success story is the best example of Toyota's commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction."

"When we announced the arrival of the 10th generation of the model earlier this year I received many personal letters from appreciative Corolla owners who have been driving a succession of Corollas over several decades."

"Whilst this customer loyalty is the cornerstone of Corolla's long standing sales success, we have never taken it for granted because loyalty has to be earned customer by customer based on individual ownership experiences."

"Fortunately Corolla's industry leading ratings across a whole range of factors, including driving pleasure, safety, economy, reliability and resale value serve to revalidate a Corolla owner's vehicle choice on a daily basis," Mr Field said.

The current line-up consists of three body styles, two grades and two transmissions.

The five door hatch and the four door sedans are powered by a 1.8 litre engine with dual Variable Valve Timing, and the five door wagon features a fuel efficient 1.5 litre engine.

The word Corolla means the petals of a flower and the vehicle has humble beginnings in Japan as an affordable small car for the domestic market.

Since its debut, Corolla has been the number one seller in Japan for 36 of the past 40 years.

Its phenomenal success means that on average, one Corolla has been sold somewhere in the world every 40 seconds for the past 40 years.

Current production of the tenth generation Corolla is running at more than one million units a year from plants in 16 countries.

In the current American product inventory of Toyota, one of the world's largest automakers, the Corolla model is the oldest. Aside from being the first car that Toyota manufactured in the United States, with over 30 million Corolla units sold worldwide, it is also the most popular among the company's car lines.

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