New Toyota lures Israelis, Russians

SAKARYA - Anadolu Agency

New Toyota Corolla, produced in Sakarya, is sold to 52 countries. AA photo

The New Toyota Corolla, manufactured in the northwestern province of Sakarya, is being exported to some 52 countries, with Israeli and Russian markets demonstrating the most interest, said Toyota Turkey CEO, Orhan Özer.

“We have made more sales of this model than we had forecasted. A total of 56,000 Toyota Corolla have been manufactured in our factories in Sakarya over the last six months and some 70 percent of them have been sold to customers in Israel and Russia or in Turkey,” Özer said.

The serial production of the model started last June with the intention to mainly export the finished products.

“We are planning to reach an annual production rate of around 140,000 units by next year. We had become used to selling most units to the European market, but this has now changed with new Corolla. This model attracts mainly Russian, Turkish and Israeli drivers as well as North African and Kazakh drivers,” Özer said.

Parts are being supplied from 74 local suppliers in Turkey, as well as suppliers in Europe and Japan for the factory.