This Is What the World’s Best-Selling Car of All Time Could Look Like in the Near Future

Toyota officially dropped the Corolla Concept at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo. And for the first time in its long-running history, the Corolla has the potential to actually look interesting and even futuristically cool.

The Japanese auto giant teased the concept just a short time ago, largely revealing what the car would look like. But now, Toyota officially released the Corolla Concept, going into further detail about what it could mean for the best-selling car of all time.

Toyota knows appearances matter

Toyota

It was not even a decade ago that Toyota received a lot of flak for being “the most boring carmaker in the world.” And that largely came down to how aesthetically dull and, well, vanilla many (if not all) of its cars were. Certainly to enthusiasts and car-savvy people.

Of course, Toyota had its reasons. By keeping their appearances simple and largely palatable, the automaker’s product planners thought the strategy would provide the widest appeal.

It was also representative of how the auto industry at large primarily focused on commuter culture and efficiency. But as the last decade has proven, boring got boring pretty fast.

Attempting to market cars to the general commuting population is a double-edged sword in that it generates a huge image problem for the brand.

Toyota

This was only reinforced with the Prius. Although an excellent and efficient commuter vehicle, the model crippled Toyota’s reputation for making fun and interesting cars — something it had very much done before axing its entire sports car range in the 2000s.

It may have taken a while. But Toyota finally realized aesthetics matter, and it recently overhauled the Prius to make it a rather attractive vehicle.

Toyota

Now, the brand is looking to do the same with its bread-and-butter compact sedan.

Next-gen Corolla EV potential

During Toyota’s press conference at the Tokyo Motor Show, CEO Koji Sato described how the Corolla represents the company’s latest strategic shift.

Toyota

While the automaker is rebranding itself to once again be a source for affordable and fun cars, it’s also apart of the company’s larger effort to provide “Mobility for All.” That effort includes revamping the Corolla, which has long been the best-selling car in history after the original Volkswagen Beetle.

As a car designed and engineered to motivate the masses, the new Corolla Concept represents a new chapter. It could prove that transportation need not be boring, regardless of price point.

Toyota

However, Sato didn’t go into much further detail about the technical details of the Corolla Concept.

Rumors have been circulating, suggesting the Corolla could go electric for the first time. But Toyota’s been very apprehensive about its electrification strategy, openly admitting that it doesn’t believe it to be the correct path forward.

Toyota

Instead, the brand would rather focus on improving internal combustion tech and gas-electric power. Today, the Corolla utilizes a range of gas, diesel and hybrid powertrains.

But if Toyota plans to boost its electrification efforts, the brand would likely pursue a “multi-energy” path. It would likely be similar to other automakers.

Companies like Stellantis and Porsche pledged to provide customers the option of either full internal combustion power, hybrid power, or electric powertrains. Rather than forcing them to adopt a specific powertrain, Toyota could be doing the same.

Toyota

Either way, regardless of what powers the next-gen Corolla, I’m actually looking forward to its production version, should the concept represent its design direction.

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