Australian fans of this year’s most exciting hot hatchback, the Toyota GR Corolla, must get a move on now if they are to avoid months- or even possibly years-long delivery delays due to extremely limited supplies.
Reports out of America this week reveal that Toyota will only produce 8600 examples of the GR Corolla globally, with 6600 going straight to the United States, leaving the rest of the world to fight over just 2000 cars.
That’s right. Some 77 per cent of all production is heading to North America, leaving the remaining 23% split between hot-hatch-loving Australia and the rest of Earth.
With Australian sales set to commence in around October or November this year, we strongly recommend contacting your local dealer to schmoose and possibly place a refundable deposit as soon as possible. Pre-ordering a GR Corolla seems to be the surest way of avoiding long queues with no end in sight.
One US report advises the same thing, stating the company itself is suggesting that “…customers can contact a Toyota dealership about reserving a unit”.
Back home, a Toyota Australia spokesperson refused to reveal what the GR Corolla numbers are for Australia, commenting instead that all relevant information, including stock levels, pricing and specification, will be revealed closer to the launch date later in 2022.
In the USA, 1500 of the 6600 GR Corollas are said to be the hardcore Circuit Edition that scores limited slip differentials, bonnet vents, suede sports seats, blacked-out trim and a huge rear wing spoiler. Apparently all these are optional on the regular Core grade.
Whether Australian buyers receive the same specifications – and what the split will be between models – is still some ways away from being revealed. Speculation puts the Toyota's pricing somewhere between the $49,990 before on-road costs GR Yaris and $65,990 Volkswagen Golf R.
Speaking of which, with interest in the GR Corolla mounting, many buyers don’t want a repeat of the GR Yaris debacle, selling out straight away when launched in mid-2020, rising in price successively since and then having to be withdrawn temporarily from sale in Australia due to too many orders mid last year.
It appears Toyota Australia has yet to complete all the outstanding order deliveries to this day.
But the news isn’t as grim as it may seem for local GR Corolla fans.
The whole of Europe – including potentially stock-sapping markets like the United Kingdom, France and Germany that also buy up hot hatches in huge numbers – won’t be getting the GR Corolla at all at this stage, with Toyota instead counting on Europeans to enjoy the smaller, lighter, tighter and thus more emissions-friendly GR Yaris.
Thus, Australia will most probably be prioritised in the GR Corolla pecking order as the likely second largest market in the world after the United States, given our love for all things rorty and sporty.
This may even result in over 1000 GR Corollas coming our way anyway, leaving the rest for other countries like Japan, South Korea and China to scrap it out for the remainder of production.
Finally, that 8600 number being bandied around is only for the first year of production, which is likely to commence in August or September after the summer holidays in Japan come to an end. After all, the company seems intent on the mantra of "building one too few" GR Corollas (and most other models, it seems).
Supply-issues not withstanding, Toyota can always elect to ramp up numbers the following year to fit demand requirements, and that may free up more stock further down the line.
Except, of course, that still brings us back to waiting until the end of next year or into 2024 for a GR Corolla, and that’s precisely what you don’t want to have to endure, so – like we said earlier – get in quick if you don’t want to miss 2022’s most exciting new-model release.
To recap, the 220kW/370Nm GR Corolla uses a variation of the YR Yaris’ 1.6-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine, with an extra 20kW of power, and driving all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
This puts it in league with the 202kW/350Nm Subaru WRX and 235kW/400Nm Volkswagen Golf R, which start from $45,000 and $66,000 respectively.
There’s also front and rear Torsen limited-slip differentials, upgraded suspension, increased body rigidity, larger brakes and a manual handbrake lever.
Unlike its smaller sibling, the Corolla doesn’t score a new body with two fewer doors, instead relying on bulging arches and bonnet, different bumpers, extra vents, spoilers, a body kit, triple exhaust outlets and fatter wheels.
