In its 25th year of production, the Toyota Yaris has surpassed 10 million sales worldwide, becoming the Japanese automaker’s 6th model to do so. The feat was previously achieved by the Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Hilux, and Land Cruiser.
The Yaris (which originally debuted as a hatchback), known as the “little genius with big impact,” has continuously raised the standard for innovation and won numerous awards over the years. Its outstanding sales benchmark is proof of its enormous popularity.
When the first model of the Toyota Yaris was revealed at the 1998 Paris Motor Show, it immediately established itself as a market leader. It was released in Japan in 1999, with a sedan variant also available. Depending on the iteration, configuration, and market where it was made available, the car was marketed with different names including Vitz, Platz, Echo, Belta, Vios, and Scion iA. The 10 million mark, however, only includes the Yaris, Vitz, Yaris Cross, and GR Yaris nameplates.
Related: History: Toyota Yaris All Generations
The popular Yaris hatchback is now in its fourth generation, which debuted in 2020. With this generation upgrade, it became the world’s safest compact car, thanks to the inclusion of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) as a standard feature.
The fourth-generation model is built on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) GA-B platform, which provides greater dynamic performance as well as a smoother ride and handling. The car has an eye-catching design and appears broader, lower, and more compact. Powering the vehicle is a more efficient drivetrain that improves total system output by 16%. The performance version called GR Yaris also packs the world’s most powerful 3-cylinder engine under its hood.
Related: The 519hp Toyota GR Yaris with a World Record Run
Toyota produces the Yaris hatchback in 10 different countries around the globe, including Japan, Brazil, and China. The 10 millionth milestone unit of the car was the Yaris GR Sport version produced in France, which is home to the car’s production in Europe since 2001.
Commenting on achieving the feat, Didier Leroy, Chairman, of Toyota Motor Europe said:
“Today, 22 years after the grand opening of Toyota’s plant in France, TMMF celebrates the 10 millionth Yaris car being sold around the world. This global sales milestone is a token of the confidence that the Toyota Group has continuously demonstrated towards this French site that has produced more than 4.5 million Yaris and Yaris Cross cars since its establishment in 2001. It is an honor and my great pleasure that we can share this moment today with the 5,000 members of the site.”
The Toyota Yaris range has since grown further with the launch of the Yaris Cross SUV, which was named the World Urban Car category winner in the World Car Awards.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
