Toyota New Zealand today confirmed that the pure petrol-powered Toyota Corolla is to be discontinued from the range in favour of Toyota’s hybrid powertrains. 

The decision means that all Toyota Corolla’s sold in New Zealand will be petrol-electric hybrids by the end of 2022.

Toyota New Zealand General Manager of Sales, Steve Prangnell says “the decision to no longer offer a petrol-only engine in the Corolla is driven by strong consumer preference for hybrid-electric powertrains and Toyota’s objective to reduce the carbon footprint of their new vehicle sales in New Zealand”.

“For some time now, Toyota’s hybrid-electric powertrain has been the most popular choice across not just the Corolla range, but passenger cars generally,” says Mr Prangnell.

Strong demand for hybrids, and the added advantage of the clean-car rebate, has created favorable conditions for the sale of electrified vehicles. Mr Pragnell added, “from an affordability perspective, with so many Toyota models available now with our hybrid-electric technology, they have become a mainstream customer choice as the cost of buying a new hybrid-electric Toyota compared to a petrol-only vehicle has basically been eliminated”.

As of today, a base Toyota Corolla GX Hybrid Hatch starts at $35,900 drive-away, while the range-topping ZR Hatch goes for $41,990. Check out our review of the Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid hatch here.

Toyota New Zealand also confirmed the arrival of Corolla’s more rotund, SUV brother, the Corolla Cross.

The Corolla Cross is similar in format to the larger hybrid-electric RAV-4, only based on Toyota’s TNGA-C platform. Available in either front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), the Corolla Cross is powered by Toyota’s 2.0-litre 4-cylinder “Dynamic Force” engine matched to Toyota’s fifth-generation hybrid-electric system. The AWD is assisted by two electric motors for increased capability. The second motor sits on the rear axle without affecting the space available in the rear.

Further details and pricing are to be made available in the latter part of 2022.

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Alistair Weekes
A millennial who prefers driving cars to having avocado on toast.

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