LUCKY 13

Toyota to reinvent its best-selling Corolla hatchback

- STORY: FELIX PAGE

Toyota will reinvent its bestselling Corolla hatchback for a 13th generation with a dramatic new look, next-era interior technology and the option of combustion, electric and likely hydrogen powertrains.

The world's bestselling car, with more than 50 million examples sold since it was launched in 1966, will drastically change shape and major on flexibility as it gears up to take on the next Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia, both due in the coming years.

Redesigned in line with Toyota's sharp new aesthetic language and completely different from today's car, the new Corolla has been previewed by a concept at the Tokyo show.

"We're going to reinvent the bestselling car of all time," said Toyota designer Lance Scott, outlining the Japanese brand's plan to maintain that mass appeal by catering to the varying demands of its customers in markets around the world.

Crucial to that will be a multi-pow-ertrain lineup that includes both electric and combustion-based powertrains (pure-ICE, hybrid and plugin hybrid) using an entirely new engine whose compact packaging is described as being crucial to the Corolla concept's rakish look and powertrain-agnostic packaging. Toyota has also told Autocar a hydrogen FCEV powertrain has been developed for the car.