Toyota confirms GR Corolla production is heading to the UK

Toyota has confirmed that it will be building its new GR Corolla in the UK, bringing a boost to the firm’s Burnaston site.

With first vehicles expected to roll off the production line next year, the move comes following Toyota’s acknowledgement of Toyota UK’s ‘staff and its supply chain, and the deep motorsport culture and skill base within the United Kingdom’.

Yoshihiro Nakata, resident and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said: “We are proud that TMUK, our first plant in Europe, has also been selected as the first overseas Toyota plant to produce GR vehicles, securing this expansion project for TGR worldwide. We very much appreciate the historical support and recognition of the United Kingdom and would like to continue to contribute to UK society as a ‘Best in Town’ company.”

The new GR – which stands for ‘Gazoo Racing’, a department which was formed in 2009 – brings a high-performance edge to one of Toyota’s most popular cars. With a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine, the GR Corolla also gets a four-wheel-drive system for better traction in poor conditions or over loose surfaces.

In the UK, it will join the GR Supra, GR Yaris and GR86 in Toyota’s range of go-faster vehicles. The brand added that demand for these vehicles has ‘consistently outstripped supply’, which has led to the move for production expansion into the UK.

Toyota has stated that ‘details of the markets for sales, production volumes and investment levels will be confirmed at a later date’.