Milliyet - The world’s largest automobile manufacturer is counting the days until the start of production of its 11th generation Corolla in its Turkish factory and is also looking into adding another vehicle, probably a B-SUV or another C-segment model like the Corolla, to the production line at the same plant.
The official production of the new Corolla will commence at the start of July at Toyota’s Adapazari, Sakarya plant in northwestern Türkiye. Having received an investment of EUR 150 million, Toyota Türkiye will mainly supply the company’s European markets with the new Corolla and revamped Verso at a rate of 180,000 vehicles a year. Toyota’s local plant in Türkiye had been manufacturing Auris and Verso models up until the Japanese company’s decision to replace the Auris with the new Corolla in 2011. The Toyota Adapazari plant produced over a million vehicles, the majority being several models of Corolla, between the years 1994-2006.
The new addition to the plant’s line-up may either be a B-SUV, also known as a crossover, or another C-segment vehicle, thought to be a an hybrid version of the new Corolla.
“Toyota will choose between Adapazari and its French plant for the production of new crossover type vehicle.”, Toyota Türkiye CEO Orhan Ozer said, adding that the company will announce the decision within a month.
With regard to the second production candidate, Ozer said there was no decision made as of yet and highlighted Toyota Türkiye’s expertise in manufacturing C-segment vehicles.
Known for its high quality standards, Toyota’s Adapazari plant has expanded its workforce to 3,300 people for the production of the new Corolla, scheduled to be shipped to a market of 52 countries by September.
In addition to Toyota, Türkiye is a growth market and an an export hub for other car makers including Ford, Renault, Fiat, Honda, and Hyundai who run manufacturing operations in the country.