The Pakistani market is flooded with crossovers, but there is no denying that consumers are still interested in conventional sedans like Civic and Corolla.
We did get the latest update on the new Honda Civic when the 11th generation Civic was globally released in April 2021. The car is available for sale only in North America, and we can expect a new Civic in Pakistan by mid-2022 or onwards. (Okay, cool!)
Now, the latest 12th generation Corolla made its global debut in late 2018. By September 2019, it was available for sale in Thailand and other ASEAN regions. It’s been 2.5 years since its launch. Technically, by now, we should have the new Corolla in Pakistan. So the question is, Dear Toyota Indus, where is the 12th generation Corolla??
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 might have caused some developmental delays. However, I think there were some intentional delays by Toyota Indus, a somewhat strategic move. Between you and me, the new Corolla is now on the horizon, and although there’s no official timeline, I suspect & expect it within the next 12 to 18 months. Wait, that’s not the only news. The even bigger news is that we’ll have a Hybrid 12th Gen Corolla before the petrol one. Here’s proof.
Fact 1: Toyota needs major technical and assembly line upgrades for the new Corolla
Let’s first go over the technicalities of the new 12th generation Corolla. Toyota has introduced a Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) for the c-segment vehicles. It’s called the GA-C platform, and it underpins the Corolla family (Corolla sedan, Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Estate/Wagon, Corolla Cross) as well as the current generation Toyota Prius.
The 11th generation Corolla [current PK Model] is based on MC Platform, discontinued globally and replaced with the newer “GA-C”. So, to replace the old 11th generation Corolla with the new 12th generation Corolla, Toyota needs major technical and assembly line upgrades and a lot of investment. That’s where the new auto policy kicks in. You’ll be surprised how Toyota Indus played the auto policy card in this game.
Fact 2: Toyota has won benefits for hybrid cars in the New Auto Policy
We all know that the Government of Pakistan was pushing for fully Electric Vehicles in the new auto policy. What we don’t know is that it was Toyota Indus who pushed for the tax breaks and incentives for the hybrid cars in the new policy. The CEO of Toyota Indus, who also heads the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), had been very vocal about Hybrids with the members of the association. He met multiple times with government policymakers, even PM Imran Khan, sharing benefits of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) over Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
Toyota Indus promised to invest in hybrid technology and assemble hybrid vehicles locally in Pakistan. This strategic approach worked, and the government at last included HEVs in the new policy. Toyota then thanked the government in multiple media advertisements.
Yes, the hybrid incentives, as per the new auto policy, will not only benefit Toyota but the whole industry. But, it will be Toyota taking advantage right away. With the new auto policy now in action, things have come full circle for Toyota Indus. The policy will help Toyota Indus cover/recover the cost of implementing the GA-C platform as well as bring hybrid cars to Pakistan with lower taxes. Both hints lead to one thing: HYBRID COROLLA.
12th Gen Corolla Sedan
We all have extensive knowledge of the international 12th generation Corolla; what about the one coming to Pakistan? We expect a base model with a 1ZR-FE 1.6L engine with around 120 hp and an upper variant with a 2ZR-FAE 1.8L engine with about 138 hp in Pakistan. As always, these two will sell like hotcakes (because it’s a Corolla), but the hybrid variant will remain as the main attraction and might bring back those consumers who are in the market for crossovers.
Hybrid Corolla
As of the hybrid variant of 12 gen Corolla, it carries over everything from the current generation of Toyota Prius. A 2ZR-FXE 1.8L engine with an electric motor and making a combined output of 121 hp with ECVT.
Toyota Indus will offer its Hybrid version as their top variant with the most options and features. Expect it to be priced higher than the current top-of-the-line Altis Grande. Indus will market it as the most fuel-efficient local assembled sedan. The Hybrid Corolla has almost the same fuel efficiency as Prius, approximately 23 kilometers per liter.
When Is It Coming?
The last and the most critical question: when will the new Corolla make it to the Pakistani market? I think that Indus is already working on replacing Corolla, and all the required groundwork is in progress.
Here’s the deal: Toyota Indus was already in the process towards the newer generation Corolla and, at the same time, working on the inclusion of hybrid vehicles in the auto policy. Indus did buy some time by launching the useless facelift earlier this year, Corolla-X. Now that things have fallen into place, we might see the 12th gen Corolla [probably sedan] within a year and possibly by the summer of 2022.
So, will you prefer a 12th Generation Corolla Hybrid or still go for any Crossover?
As usual, the article has been well-worded, it ticks on all boxes a journalist is supposed to check, facts, evidence, logical presentation. May you live in health, wealth and peace bhai Fazal Wahab.
As for either choosing crossover or sedan, well, none of the newly introduced crossovers, in particular shiny Chinese boxes can compete with Corolla in terms of durability. So for myself, it shall be 12th generation Toyota Corolla hybrid version, if priced reasonably of course.
Sedans > Fake suvs (crossovers)
The shape is good and I personally like the new gen
This move taken by indus motor is really good, but kinda unfair for other players as Toyota ceo is also the chairman of PAMA but still, we can also expect local cross than, hmmm, The upcoming years are gonna be exciting for the auto industry, Lets Hope for best…
Mr Khurram I agree to ur words. Chinese boxes, hahahaha. Nevertheless Chinese vehicles are nowhere to stand as of now but time would tell for future. German and Japanese vehicles would continue to rule for quite sometime from now. KiA and Hyundai are taking the roots but would take time for complete settling. Good Luck to consumers anyways 👏👍
Sedans are dying everybody these days is in to crossovers. Toyota should launched Rav4 in Pakistan. It will sell like hot cakes if it is launched in Pakistan
Mr. Captain thankyou and you are right, only time will relate how reliable Chinese cars are until then, Japanese and Germans are going to stay ahead of competition if not completely rule the market. I must also agree with you to pray for customers of these cars.
Fazal Wahab sahab I think he still ain’t learnt why the fuck he still uses the word so-called or whatever. Still my fellow Porkistanis unaware with the following this:
1) Pakistan is not the only country being stuck in 11th Generation Corolla with Altis X upgrades, Vietnamese market and Indian market also joins the league where 12th Generation Sedan didn’t launched yet. Still no updates for Vietnam but Indian market having Toyota rebadged Suzuki cars as they aren’t launching the new sedan due to BS6 emissions as they’re planning to rebadge Ertiga & Ciaz to Toyota lineup.
2) There are no. of countries where both last gen and current gen of certain car models still being produced due to covid19 including India as there are no. of cars lineup in India awaiting for model change or being sold parallely in both old and new gen.
3) Since 2016 following discontinuation of complete conventional lineup of Mitsubishis leaving 660s & Ford in North America leaving mustangs, There are no. Of car manufacturers worldwide planning to focus mostly on SUVs & crossovers leaving some sole survivors & certain planning to join the league of Tesla I mean to be fully electric like Hummer & JLR.
The 12th generation corolla is in your ass chutiya ke pathay Fazool Wuhan….ops I mean Fazal Wahab.
who cares? corolla is useless even in hybrid when you ask toyota about replacement battery costs.
This article gives too much hope
Just want to say Iss Govt ne or vehicle mafia ne logon ko ullu banaya hua hai.india main 1 lak 50 thousand wali Honda reborn yahan 20 lak ki or suzuki jo india main 2 lak ki hai yahan 12 lak ki sale ho rahi hai.luxury cars india main 12 se 20 lak tak hai or yahan 60 to 1 coror main sale ho rahi hai ore phir kehtay hain india kuch bhi nahi.bullshit
Just curious, why is the HP lower on 2ZR-FXE 1.8L engine as compared to 2ZR-FAE 1.8L engine? I always thought the “combined” HP on hybrids is higher as compared to gas engines, due to the additional surge from the elect motors.