Toyota unveils new Corolla Concept with plans for BEV and FCEV powertrains

Toyota has unveiled a new Corolla Concept at the Japan Mobility Show 2025. The company describes its model as “a car for everyone”; it is the bestselling car globally to date, with 50 million units sold between 1966 and 2021.

For the new Toyota Corolla Concept, the Japanese manufacturer introduces a refreshed design, with sleek lines and a minimal interior. At the front are angular headlights, with an LED lightbar connecting the two. At the rear are wraparound brake lights, and the concept also features a panoramic roof. Inside the car, the driver has a series of ‘floating’ panels curved around the steering wheel, in place of a typical dashboard, and in the centre console, there is a miniature version of the vehicle which acts as a gear selector. 

At the event, Toyota indicated that it could offer this refreshed model as a battery-electric vehicle (BEV), a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), a hybrid (HEV), or an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. Images of the Toyota Corolla Concept, below, seem to show a battery electric vehicle, with a charging port behind the driver's side front wheel.

Plus, a recent report suggests that Toyota is also working on a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) version of the next-generation Corolla. In an interview with Autocar, Mitsumasa Yamagata, Toyota Hydrogen Factory President, stated that their team was developing a hydrogen-based powertrain for the vehicle, with a smaller cell size to avoid a large-scale redesign of the concept.

It remains to be seen when a version of the Toyota Corolla Concept will go into production, and how closely the final design will match the vehicle shown this year.