Toyota GR Corolla: Is Toyota’s Aggressive Marketing Strategy a Mistake?
The new 2023 Toyota GR Corolla is a fantastic performance machine for anyone looking for an adrenaline rush on a budget. This performance-oriented Toyota hot hatch has the chops to take on some of the best in its class, but something isn’t quite right. The Toyota GR Corolla may face a serious marketing problem from its marketing department.
What is the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla?
This new Corolla brings the benefits of Gazoo Racing tech to give us a mean and impressive hot hatch. This incredible car brings 300 galloping ponies to your drive from a tiny 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine. The standard six-speed manual transmission adds to the engaging drive, giving you more fun and active driving.
This car is fast, hitting 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and 100 mph in 11.4 seconds. This makes it only slightly quicker in these sprints than the Honda Civic Type R and Volkswagen Golf R.
The most exciting aspect of the GR Corolla is that it’s coming to the United States, unlike the GR Yaris. That said, the Toyota marketing department might have made a serious mistake with the US-bound GR Corolla models.
 Is it a marketing problem or a market problem?
Hatchbacks in the United States are like station wagons. These words have become virtual curses in the U.S. automotive world, and a bar of Lava soap should be present to wash out the offender’s mouth.
That said, we love hot hatches, which are specialized versions of regular cars. This is why the Honda Civic Type R and VW Golf R are popular here.
Still, the United States only makes up seven percent of all hatchback sales globally. This isn’t enough for Toyota to offer unlimited numbers of the new 2023 Toyota GR Corolla. Unfortunately, this means we might have a market problem, but Toyota is adding to this issue.
The Toyota GR Corolla marketing problem comes down to supply and demand
Instead of offering large numbers of the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla in the United States, ensuring all customers that desire one of these hot hatches can have one, Toyota intends to sell these cars in low numbers to keep the value up. This has already created a problem.
The aggressive marketing tactics have caused some dealers to mark up the GR Corolla in the $50,000 range. This higher price, which is $10,000-$15,000 above MSRP, means some buyers might prefer a much more powerful and sporty car than the supposedly affordable GR Corolla.
What alternatives to the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla are available at this price?
The Toyota GR Corolla marketing problem could send some consumers looking at the GR Supra as an excellent alternative. The base model with the 2.0-liter engine offers an MSRP of $45,000, and the 3.0-liter 6-cylinder version comes in at $53,000.
Has the Toyota marketing strategy for the GR Corolla backfired in the United States? Will this aggressive new Toyota hot hatch fail before it gets its feet wet?
