The year 2020 started with all the celebrations globally, but things changed very quickly. The well-known word which is now on everyone’s lips is COVID-19, a pandemic that has played havoc around the globe.
It has not only taken hundreds and thousands of lives but also disrupted almost every other business entity in one way or another, and the automotive sector has been on top of the list.We here in Pakistan had an already troubling car sector because of inconsistent government policies, rising car prices, inflation, and many other factors.
COVID-19 was the icing on the cake.When it comes to cars like Corolla and Civic, everyone gets excited to know something new about them. Corolla is Toyota’s bread and butter with sales in over 150 countries that contribute a total of 20% of sales of the entire company.
According to Toyota, there are 16 Corolla assembly plants worldwide, and over 46 Million units have been sold to date, since the first generation. Regardless of the slowdown in the Pakistani auto sector, there are still developments going on like, for example, back in March, Toyota Indus revealed the most anticipated Toyota Yaris sedan.
Hyundai is near its official launch of Tucson and Elantra, while some new entrants are also working on their releases as well.
Now , a camouflaged vehicle is seen on the roads of Pakistan, which is making headlines on social media and among automotive enthusiasts. The vehicle hiding its identity under black and white striped wrap is non-other than the upcoming 12th Generation Toyota Corolla.
In this article, we will quickly go over what we know so far about the upcoming Corolla. Our assumptions and expectations will be on the basis of the data we have from various sources, including the Corolla version currently available in the ASEAN region.
EXPECTED LAUNCH/ PRICING:
Because of the ongoing pandemic Covid-19 crisis, the entire auto industry suffered badly globally, and almost all car companies have a hard time meeting sales targets as well as other items in their pipeline, including the research, development, and launch of the new models are being delayed.
The Pakistani car industry is more of assembly line rather an actual development of a product, and as the 12th generation Corolla is already launched in other regions, implementations of the new product are rather quick for us although we should keep in mind that the 12th generation Corolla is entirely on the new platform and major plant upgrades and updates are required for the assembly.
The camouflaged vehicle seen publicly on the roads is the first indication that we are near the official launch. We can’t predict the timeline at this point, but we can assume that the 12th generation Corolla might be officially released later this year or early next year.After a discussion with various experts and enthusiasts who follow the local car industry very keenly, they predict the release somewhat in September/ October of 2020.
The next big questions are pricing. Its again unpredictable at this time, but looking at the past trends, we can expect an increase in price for all the variants for the upcoming Corolla. I would not be surprised to see the price of the fully-loaded top variant of Corolla jumping over the PKR 4 Million fences.
The upcoming financial budget will also help us predict some numbers. The head to a head competitor of Corolla, which is Civic, is still at least 2 years away from its 11th generation, which would mean that the 12th generation Corolla will become a limelight attraction.
