The new Toyota Corolla arrives to the Middle East: First stops are Saudi Arabia and Egypt

The 10th generation of Toyota Corolla reached the Saudi kingdom and made its debut at the luxurious Leylaty Ballroom in Jeddah. The new generation of Corolla 2008, which is launched in Saudi Arabia by the sole dealer ALJ, is one of the best-selling cars in the world. The Corolla 2008 was unveiled by Mr. Sakaguchi, Toyota Corolla chief engineer, and Mr. Waleed Hambishi, Toyota marketing manager.

ALJ launched the Corolla simultaneously in the three major cities Riyadh (Sahari Mall), Jeddah (Aziz Mall) and Al Khobar (Al Rashed Mall), while using big TV screens showing the events. ALJ's president Mohammad Jammel said he was happy that the Toyota Corolla popularity is still growing and reaching even larger market shares in Saudi Arabia.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Corolla since the first generation Corolla was introduced in 1966, reaching more then 30 million clients so far.. For each generation, the Corolla, now in its tenth generation, made use of new concepts and technologies required by that generation and were at the forefront of Toyota’s history and its motorization;
The first thought about the development of this tenth generation Corolla was the need of 'global' car for reaching a 'global scale'. The conventional Corolla models has been developed based on the Japanese market and then added on by technology and specifications that corresponded to the need of each separate region.
This time, from the early stages of development for the Corolla dedicated to the Saudi market, the focus was on the Saudi market and its needs, while a development from a global point of view advanced it.
This means, Toyota began developing dynamic performance that concentrated on Europe, where market environments are the most stringent. It also developed the Corolla by taking user friendliness for customers in the North America- the largest market- and cabin space into consideration from the planning stage.
Sales volume reached 1.5 million per year, which represents a global scale volume but also raises the bar to a challenging level that Toyota has not experienced until now.
Seating space that conveys spaciousness the moment you get in and a design that overflows with a sense of fine quality has been achieved with the interior design. Sporty, stable driving performance and flat riding comfort has been achieved for all driving scenarios from driving in town to driving on highways by adopting engines with established reputations and well developed suspensions.
The conventional 1.3L (2NZ-FE) engine was changed to the more powerful 1.6L (3ZZ-FE) engine for the two engine lineup of the 1.8L (1ZZ-FE) and 1.6L (3ZZ-FE) engine to pursue top class power and fuel efficiency performance. In addition, driving stability and riding comfort that surpass competition has been achieved in addition to good acceleration performance and handling performance.
A total of 7 exterior colors are available including 5 new colors developed from three design and material themes.
The official launch of the Corolla 2008 in Egypt will take place on Thursday (15.11.2007) during a VIP reception taking place at the world-famous citadel. Ordering the 2008 Corolla can be done starting Friday (16.11.2007), while the first cars will be delivered on the 1st of January 2008.