Toyota to move some GR Corolla production to Britain, sources say

Toyota is moving some production of its GR Corolla sports car to Britain and will spend around $56m (R1bn) on a dedicated line there to build exports for North America, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

By shifting some production from Japan, Toyota aims to use excess capacity in Britain to help it cut delivery wait times for the car, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The move was not in reaction to US President Donald Trump's tariffs on automobile imports, they said.

The Trump administration agreed this month to reduce tariffs on car imports from Britain to 10% on up to 100,000 vehicles a year. Japan is seeking to have repealed the 25% tariffs the US has imposed on all car imports.

For global carmakers, the tariffs mean an additional challenge on top of differing emissions standards and customer demands across major markets.

Toyota produces the GR Corolla in Japan for the Japanese market and for export to North America and other markets. However, it hasn't been able to keep up with North American demand, given keen interest in the petrol-powered car from engine enthusiasts, the people said.

It will set up a production line at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire and invest around ¥8bn (R1bn) to produce 10,000 cars annually for export to North America from the middle of 2026, according to the people.

Burnaston began operations in 1992 and possesses advanced production technology. It has suffered a decline in production since Brexit, said the people. The plant produces the Corolla GR's base model, the Corolla hatchback, making it a natural choice, one of the people said.

Engineers will be temporarily dispatched from Japan to share production technology and other expertise, the people said.

In response to Reuters questions, Toyota said it was always looking for ways to optimise production. The report was not something the company had publicly announced, it said.

High-performance car

The GR Corolla is one of three high-performance vehicles built on a dedicated line at the Motomachi Plant in Toyota City, where production is at full capacity, the people said.

About 25,000 cars were produced on the line last year, with GR Corollas accounting for 8,000 of those.

Toyota's US plants are also dealing with strong demand for hybrids and other vehicles, making it difficult for the carmaker to shift production there, the people said.

Whether exporting from Japan or Britain, Toyota plans to absorb any cost increases from tariffs through cost-cutting and other measures and will not raise prices, the people said.

The GR series, which includes the GR Corolla and the GR Yaris, is a brand born out of chair Akio Toyoda's well-known love of racing and includes technology from motorsports in commercial cars.

The price of the GR Corolla is around ¥6m (R748,896), or twice that of the standard model. While more customers move to electric and hybrid cars, sports cars have a die-hard band of followers.

While sales are not large in terms of numbers, the cars themselves are higher-margin, said one of the people.

The GR series requires more time and effort to produce than a standard model because of the many manual processes involved and takes several months to be delivered to North America.

After the transfer of the North America-bound production to Britain, the Motomachi plant will continue to produce vehicles for Japan and for other overseas markets, the people said.