The official start of production of the all-new Toyota Corolla Hatchback and Touring Sports wagon was marked by a ceremony at the Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK) car plant at Burnaston in Derbyshire last week.

The event was attended by Johan van Zyl (president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe), Hiroki Nakajima (chief engineer and executive vice-president of Toyota Motor Corporation), Koji Tsuruoka (Japan’s ambassador to the UK) and Business Secretary Greg Clark.

TMUK is the exclusive European production centre for these new models, which will be strong contenders in the highly competitive C-segment compact hatchback and wagon market.

Dr van Zyl, said: “TMUK was our first major manufacturing enterprise in Europe, and we have invested more than £2.75 billion in its operations since the start of production in 1992.

“As part of our strategy to secure the competitiveness of our UK operations, we took the decision in 2017 to upgrade the Burnaston plant to manufacture cars based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform.

“The highly qualified workforce at TMUK has a fine record of delivering superior products. The new Corolla will play a critical role in our market ambitions in Europe.

"It delivers the benefits of the new TNGA platform and increases the appeal of our industry-leading self-charging hybrid electric technology.”

Marvin Cooke, TMUK’s managing director, said: “This is a proud day for everyone at TMUK; making the new TNGA Corolla is a major milestone in our production history.

"This is a real sign of confidence in the capabilities of our workforce and in TMUK as a centre for world-class manufacturing. We will continue to deliver the highest level of quality products to our customers.”

The new Corolla will be the first Toyota model in Europe (www.toyotauk.com) to offer customers the choice of two hybrid powertrains: an upgraded 1.8-litre engine that is manufactured at Toyota’s Deeside engine plant in North Wales; and a powerful new 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain.

The new Corolla Hatchback and Touring Sports wagon will be launched around Europe from February.