Toyota Corolla 2028 gets 100% electric version built in China
Toyota plans to build a 100% electric version of its best-selling Corolla in China, starting in 2028. Production of the 13th generation will be handled by FAW Toyota Motor, a joint venture, meaning a company with shared capital, between the Japanese carmaker and the Chinese state-owned China FAW Group.
The industrial plan keeps hybrid and combustion versions alongside the battery-only model. When the Corolla Concept was shown at the Japan Mobility Show on October 1, 2025, Koji Sato, then president and CEO and now vice chairman of the board, said Toyota would build good-looking cars that people want to drive, whatever the power source.
Multipathway platform will support four powertrains
The project marks the first time the sedan will use Toyota’s multipathway architecture. It is a modified version of the TNGA-C platform, designed to host four types of propulsion in the same body structure. The same base already equips the Lexus ES, the group’s luxury division, which is sold in hybrid and electric versions.
Toyota’s engineers released early performance estimates for the new powertrains, which include changes to the traditional hybrid system and the first configuration of the battery model. The platform is expected to deliver the following:
- Battery electric (BEV), conventional hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV, recharged from an outlet) and gasoline combustion.
- Electric version with one motor (front-wheel drive) or two motors (all-wheel drive), with a minimum estimated range of 400 km (250 miles).
- Hybrid with a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine combined with an electric motor, for an estimated combined output of about 134 horsepower.
- Efficiency gain estimated at 10% to 20% in fuel consumption for the new 1.5 hybrid system compared with the current hybrid.
China plant aims to cut costs and counter BYD
Building the 13th-generation Corolla first in China is meant to lower manufacturing costs, speed up technological development and give local plants room to adjust output to market demand. Toyota is restructuring its two industrial partnerships in the country, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota, under pressure from Chinese automakers such as BYD in electrified vehicles.
Toyota sold 118,449 vehicles in China in August 2026, counting the Lexus brand, a drop of 23% from a year earlier. The figure marked the seventh straight monthly decline, as demand for gasoline and traditional hybrid models weakened. Toyota also plans to produce next-generation Lexus electric vehicles in China from 2027, along with extended-range EVs, in which a combustion engine only generates power for the batteries and does not drive the wheels.
Corolla’s 57 million units and a new leadership team
The Corolla was launched in 1966 and has passed 57 million units sold worldwide across 12 generations. It is the best-selling car in Toyota’s history and in the global auto industry. In the United States alone, 248,088 units were sold in 2025, making it the fourth best-selling Toyota product there and the 11th best-selling vehicle in the country that year.
The 13th generation arrives after a change at the top of Toyota Motor Corporation. Since April 1, 2026, Kenta Kon has held the positions of president and chief executive officer, while Koji Sato became vice chairman of the board and chief industry officer.
Akio Toyoda warns the company must adapt or fail
In July 2026, the company’s leadership addressed how urgently Toyota must adapt to the Chinese market, when Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed behind-the-scenes footage of the secret development center for the new model. Akio Toyoda, chairman of the board and former CEO, warned that the company had to adapt to Chinese competition and technology or it would not survive.
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When he presented the design concept in 2025, with sharper and more sporty lines than the traditional sedan, Sato defended keeping different engines for different regions. He said the world is vast and diverse, and that roads and energy realities differ from place to place.
Launch timing and specifications still unconfirmed
Toyota has not yet officially released final technical data for the 2028 line, including battery capacity, electric motor power, charging time and the price list. There is also no official confirmation about markets outside China, such as Brazil, the United States and Europe, or whether the cars made by FAW Toyota will be exported.
The auto sector expects the final production version of the 13th-generation Corolla to be unveiled during 2027, before commercial production begins as a 2028 model. Toyota has not confirmed whether the electric Corolla will reach the United States.
