Australia: Could 2013 be the year of the Toyota Corolla?
Good old me in front of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia November 2012.
* See each year of Toyota Corolla sales in Australia since 1967 by clicking on the title! *
Last weekend I had the opportunity to be one of the first people to be able to rent the all-new Toyota Corolla hatch in Australia (and probably the world yay!) through rental company ‘No birds’ in Sydney. I drove 700 km to the country’s capital Canberra and back, being the very first person to drive that very model – only 13 km on the odometer at the start of my trip and a nonchalant ‘no need to do the inspection as this is a brand new car’ from the rental guy…
The Toyota Corolla hit its record market share in Australia in 1986 at 5.3%
One month ago at the Sydney Motor Show just before the new Corolla went on sale across the country, Matthew Callahor told me: “We’re trying to get everything we can get (in volume terms) for 2013, we haven’t got a clear forecast in terms of production yet but given the level of interest we’ve seen even before launching the car here, I think we’ll be very well placed in 2013.” And I can confirm the curiosity from people along my roadtrip was unlike any other new model in that category. Most punters in Australia want the Corolla to succeed and are pleasantly surprised with the new design. Given the Mazda3 will be in a transition year with the new generation due to launch next year, the Corolla will have a full year of sales to better its highest ranking in the country: #2 from 2006 to 2010.
Good old me in Canberra with my rental new Toyota Corolla hatch. Thanks to Adrian for the pic.
And this week the Toyota Australia team was kind enough to share with me exclusive sales figures for the new Corolla hatch since launch on October 22. You won’t find these figures anywhere else! So thanks to Matthew, Mike and Elise for all your support. In October the new Corolla hatch sold 591 units vs. 1,528 for the old gen hatch and 858 for the sedan. In November (up to 13/11) the all-new hatch sold 654 units so far vs. 210 for the old gen hatch, so the relay has now well and truly been passed.
1970 Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla was originally introduced in Australia in 1967, just one year after its official presentation in Japan. Over this period, more than 1.2 million Corollas found a home in Australia and thanks to the Toyota Australia team I can now share with you exclusive Australian Corolla sales figures for each year since 1967! The milestones over the period are the following: in 1971 the Corolla sold over 10,000 annual units in the country for the first time, in 1975 the 20,000 annual sales were passed, in 1986 the Corolla hit what remains to this day its strongest annual market share at 5.3%, in 1990 it passes the 30,000 yearly units and in 1991 it lodges its 2nd ever 5%+ market share at 5.1%.
Most recent Australian post: Australia October 2012: Toyota Camry #1 locally built model
Previous month: Australia September 2012: Mazda3 and Hyundai i30 at record heights
One year ago: Australia October 2011: VW Golf on podium!
See the entire article and all annual Toyota Corolla volumes since 1967 below.
Between 2000 and 2008, the Corolla beats its annual volume record no less than 8 times including 6 times consecutively between 2000 and 2005, passing the 40,000 yearly units mark for the first time in 2005 at 46,415 and establishing an all-time record in 2008 with 47,901 sales. Its market share is back up to 4.8% in 2006 but has not gone above 5% since 1991. Ranking-wise, the Corolla jumps on the year-end Australian podium for the first time in 2001 at #3 and steps into 2nd position overall in 2006, keeping this rank for 5 consecutive years until 2010. It is currently #3 year-to-date in 2012 with 31,066 sales and 3.4% share, and will have a solid shot at the pole position in 2013 if all the buzz I’ve observed to-date translates into sales.
Toyota Corolla sales – Australia since launch:
| Year | Corolla | Var | Share | Rank |
| 1967 | 3,525 | 0.8% | ||
| 1968 | 8,300 | 135% | 1.8% | |
| 1969 | 9,657 | 16% | 2.0% | |
| 1970 | 9,337 | -3% | 1.9% | |
| 1971 | 10,389 | 11% | 2.1% | |
| 1972 | 9,693 | -7% | 1.9% | |
| 1973 | 15,626 | 61% | 2.7% | |
| 1974 | 19,342 | 24% | 3.5% | |
| 1975 | 22,772 | 18% | 3.8% | |
| 1976 | 25,619 | 13% | 4.2% | |
| 1977 | 21,393 | -16% | 3.8% | |
| 1978 | 24,174 | 13% | 4.2% | |
| 1979 | 25,897 | 7% | 4.6% | |
| 1980 | 26,144 | 1% | 4.5% | |
| 1981 | 23,829 | -9% | 3.9% | |
| 1982 | 24,850 | 4% | 4.0% | |
| 1983 | 21,829 | -12% | 3.8% | |
| 1984 | 22,358 | 2% | 3.5% | |
| 1985 | 28,443 | 27% | 4.1% | |
| 1986 | 28,242 | -1% | 5.3% | |
| 1987 | 21,959 | -22% | 4.9% | |
| 1988 | 24,833 | 13% | 4.8% | |
| 1989 | 22,925 | -8% | 3.8% | |
| 1990 | 30,368 | 32% | 4.9% | |
| 1991 | 26,436 | -13% | 5.1% | 6 |
| 1992 | 24,892 | -6% | 4.6% | 5 |
| 1993 | 24,574 | -1% | 4.4% | 5 |
| 1994 | 22,968 | -7% | 3.7% | 5 |
| 1995 | 23,861 | 4% | 3.7% | 6 |
| 1996 | 23,232 | -3% | 3.6% | 6 |
| 1997 | 22,319 | -4% | 3.1% | 6 |
| 1998 | 25,079 | 12% | 3.1% | 6 |
| 1999 | 28,387 | 13% | 3.6% | 5 |
| 2000 | 30,576 | 8% | 3.9% | 4 |
| 2001 | 30,813 | 1% | 4.0% | 3 |
| 2002 | 34,948 | 13% | 4.2% | 3 |
| 2003 | 36,128 | 3% | 4.0% | 4 |
| 2004 | 39,053 | 8% | 4.1% | 4 |
| 2005 | 46,415 | 19% | 4.7% | 3 |
| 2006 | 46,256 | 0% | 4.8% | 2 |
| 2007 | 47,792 | 3% | 4.5% | 2 |
| 2008 | 47,901 | 0% | 4.7% | 2 |
| 2009 | 39,013 | -19% | 4.2% | 2 |
| 2010 | 41,632 | 7% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 2011 | 36,087 | -13% | 3.6% | 4 |
| 2012 | 31,066 | n/a | 3.4% | 3 |
Source: Toyota Australia. Many thanks to Elise, Matthew and Mike for sharing the data!
One thing to bare in mind is a large number of corolla sales are fleet sales – Mazda will no doubt remain as king of private sales in 2013 regardless
Hi Matt, Is your monthly numbers being prepared yet for November. ? What happened to the Hyundai i30 it is not in the top 10 at all for nov 2012. What a shocker! Cheers mate. Ken
The back of the new Corolla looks horrible. Could be a Hyundai as well.
Hi matt, nice blog, have always been a fan of your site!
I work at at Toyota dealership in New Zealand. I drive one of the Levin SX models as drive car, IMO, the new shape definitely has improved heaps from the pervious shape in terms of handling, engine power, gearbox…..just sacrificed room for the keen looks.
,Would like to know your thoughts on the new Corolla too!
Hi Eddie,
Thanks for your note, glad you’ve been a fan!
I did enjoy driving the new Corolla lots but I’m not a car reviewer so I will be sticking to sales figures
cheers
Matt
Great stuff Matt, thanks for sharing. I don’t like Corolla’s chances in 2013, though, because they are still selling the old model sedan alongside the new hatch, and the sedan I hear accounts for about 40% of sales. The new sedan won’t be out for another year or so. So, who knows, maybe 2014?