Should Toyota Australia offer special pricing for the GR Corolla, 86 or HiLux like it did with the GR Yaris?

Toyota Australia caused quite a stir when it launched its GR Yaris last year with special pricing that cut more than $10,000 off the retail figure, but will it adopt a similar strategy for future GR models like the Corolla?

Speaking to CarsGuide, Toyota Australia marketing boss Sean Hanley would not be drawn on the existence of a GR Corolla, but hinted that the Japanese performance brand has plenty more in story for power-hungry customers.

“No announcements except to say we’ve invested a lot of money in the GR brand in Australia,” he said.

“You’d have to say those investments have worked very well for us, we’re enthusiastic and excited by the response to the GR brand and we’re excited about its future.”

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Recent rumours have pointed to the GR Corolla being powered by the same 1.6-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder as its GR Yaris sibling, but tuned from 200kW to 221kW.

The same all-wheel-drive traction is also set to be offered, as well as six-speed manual gearbox, but exclusive to the GR Corolla could be a wagon body style to take the fight right to the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R wagon and Skoda Octavia RS wagon.

Though Mr Hanley wouldn’t be drawn on GR Corolla details, he called the promotional pricing of the GR Yaris “100 per cent” the right strategy, despite the backlash as prices rose from $39,950 drive-away for the first 1000 units, to $44,950 for the next 100, before finally settling at the $49,500 before on-road costs retail price.

“I think the key to that strategy was we were always upfront about the price, we were always upfront about the number of vehicles available, we fulfilled those,” he said.

“Transparency was key, and we always said that when those initial two allocations run out, it will revert to retail pricing, which we fulfilled.

“I think the key, from our perspective, was we were totally transparent about every step of the way in terms of pricing the GR Yaris, and we’ve stayed true to that to our customer base.”

When quizzed whether the pricing strategy would return for a future GR model, possible for the GR Corolla, or upcoming second-generation GR 86 and rumoured GR HiLux, Mr Hanely didn’t rule anything out.

“We’d have to look at that case by case, it depends on market, vehicle, segment, so many factors come into it,” he said.

“We did a similar thing if you back to the original 86 actually, so it’s not overly new territory for Toyota.”

Toyota introduced the GR Yaris at a discounted rate to try and stimulate interest in the burgeoning Gazoo Racing (GR) brand, which also counts the Supra amongst its ranks.

Mr Hanley said the discount wasn’t designed to move GR stock though, as niche performance models will always sell less than mainstream nameplates, but was used to spark conversation in the brand, which he said it has.

“We set about to invest in the GR brand through the GR Yaris, the response has been positive, the strategy as far as we’re concerned has worked very well, but it was never a short-term strategy,” he said.

“It actually wasn’t just about the GR Yaris; Yaris was the catalyst … but it was more too about the GR brand where it could go in the future.

“We set about to excite the performance car market in Australia under the GR brand, this wasn’t actually about selling thousands of cars, it was about establishing and talking about this new brand called Gazoo Racing in the Australian market.”