Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla, the world's best-selling small car, will keep its current design for a record sixth year, until 2008, as the automaker focuses on rolling out other new models.
“There was a decision to be made regarding engineering resources,” John Hanson, a spokesman for Toyota's U.S. unit, said in an interview. “We decided to let Corolla go a little longer, mainly because Corolla has been such a huge sales success compared with where we thought it would be at this stage of its life cycle.”
U.S. sales of Corolla sedans and the Matrix hatchback climbed 13 percent in the first half of 2006 as gasoline — at almost $3 a gallon — helped propel demand for compacts such as Corolla and its key competitor, Honda Motor Co.'s Civic.
Toyota has sold more than 30 million Corollas since the model debuted in Japan in 1966. None of its previous designs has been on the market for more than five years, according to Toyota's Web site. The current version was released in March 2002.
Ensuring a smooth release of the new midsize Camry sedan, Toyota's top-selling U.S. model, was a primary reason for slowing the Corolla schedule, Hanson said.
“We were using essentially all engineering resources to make sure Camry launched on time,” Hanson said. “We are very comfortable that the current generation Corolla would be just fine for an additional year.”
Corolla sales in the U.S. this year totaled 197,303 through June, compared with 174,054 a year earlier.
Automotive News, a trade publication, reported the Corolla delay in its July 10 edition, based on an interview with David Danzer, group vice president of planning and development for Torrance, California-based Toyota Motor Sales.
Shares of Toyota rose $1.11 to $105.49 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
