How many Corollas have been sold?
Lots. And by lots we mean around 57 million of them in varying forms since 1966. The Corolla arrived in Ireland for the first time in 1973 (that would be the E20 version — we’re on E210 at the moment) and has been just as big a hit here as it has globally, with 215,000 Corollas sold to Irish customers over that 53-year period. In fact, we love the Corolla even more than the rest of the world — if you were to scale up Ireland’s Corolla sales by the current global population, it would mean that 250,000,000 Corollas would have been sold…
How did the Toyota Corolla become such a big success in Ireland?
In a word: reliability. You have to remember that back in 1973, when the Corolla arrived here, its rivals were the likes of the Mk II Ford Escort, the Morris Marina and the original Volkswagen Beetle, which was still on sale. While the VW had reliability on its side, the Corolla was leagues ahead of the others when it came to solidity and starting first time.
It was something that Toyota Ireland latched on to immediately in its advertising, even coining new phrases as Gaeilge: “One simply showed the Toyota name with the line ‘New Irish word for reliability.’ ‘An ball atá mall san Toyota’ sat above a fuel gauge that barely moved, a nod to the Corolla’s fuel efficiency. ‘Bí an gan teip’ with its promise ‘Níl thuigeann Toyota teip’ told Irish drivers Toyota didn’t know the meaning of failure. ‘Go raibh mílte maith agaibh’ put a Toyota twist on a familiar Irish thank-you, playing on the miles the car would cover. Playful and proudly Irish, those ads spoke to Irish drivers in their own language and helped embed the Corolla in Irish culture, a place it still holds today,” said Toyota Ireland.
How is Toyota Ireland celebrating the Corolla's big birthday?
For the big 6-0, Toyota Ireland is going to put a special 60th Anniversary Irish Edition of the Corolla on sale, which will come with 17-inch alloy wheels, new side skirts, a 60th anniversary badge, new scuff plates and new floor mats.
Which engines does the Toyota Corolla 60th get?
As with the rest of the Corolla line-up, the 60th Anniversary edition will be available with a choice of a 140hp 1.8-litrehybrid or a 178hp 2.0-litre hybrid engine (unless it’s the four-door saloon, in which case it’s a 1.8-litre hybrid only). The 60th Anniversary equipment is in addition to the standard kit, which includes a 12.3-inch driver’s ‘combimeter’ instrument display and the Toyota Smart Connect+ multimedia system with a 10.5-inch touchscreen.
The multimedia package includes access to cloud-based navigation, benefiting from up-to-date traffic information, together with an embedded route planning system. There’s also a Toyota T-Mate safety system, which includes a pre-collision system with intersection collision avoidance, intelligent adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert and lane trace assist, emergency steering assist and road sign assist.
How much will the Toyota Corolla 60th Anniversary Irish Edition cost?
Corolla prices start from €33,815 (or €260 a month) for the hatchback version, and you can choose from either a €1,250 trade-in booster or 5.9 per cent APR finance for any new Corolla right now (unless it’s the Corolla Cross, in which case it’s available with 6.9 per cent finance).
Commenting on the anniversary, Zoë Bradley, Head of Marketing Communications and Corporate Affairs, Toyota Ireland, said: “Few cars have earned a place in Irish life the way the Corolla has. It was built right here in Dublin when it first arrived in 1973, and since then it has been the first car, the family car and the car people trusted to keep going for generations of Irish drivers. That trust helped make Ireland the first country outside Japan to put Toyota at the top of the sales charts, and the Corolla is a big part of why Toyota is Ireland’s No. 1 car brand today. The 60th Anniversary Irish Edition is our way of celebrating that history with the customers who made it. It celebrates a car that has been part of Irish life for more than five decades, and one that continues to earn its place on Irish roads.”
If there is anything about this story we have not covered, you can avail of our expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.