Inflation impacts every aspect of our lives and an obvious avenue to see this in over time is how sharply the cost of goods rises.
When it comes to the automotive trade, very few models have remained true to what they were 20 years ago, nameplates evolve from one segment into another to appease market interest or automakers put defunct ranges to pasture. One that has stood the test of time is the Toyota Corolla, which has been around for longer than many of us have been alive.
Using our conclusive archive with car pricing dating back to our first issue in 1957, we have sourced the pricing of the most affordable model of Toyota’s venerable sedan range from January 2003 to January 2023, which gives us a 20-year sample to work with. Please keep in mind, this is data sourced to determine the correlation between inflation and the price of a single model over this period and may not be an accurate representation of the South African automotive industry as a whole. View below:
- 2003 Toyota Corolla 140i PS – R103 175
- 2004 Toyota Corolla 140i PS – R109 222
- 2005 Toyota Corolla 140i PS – R109 323
- 2006 Toyota Corolla 140i – R114 123
- 2007 Toyota Corolla 140i – R115 250
- 2008 Toyota Corolla 1,6 Advanced M-MT – R182 900
- 2009 Toyota Corolla 1,4 Professional – R165 700
- 2010 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Impact – R173 800
- 2011 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Impact – R179 500
- 2012 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Impact – R184 000
- 2013 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Impact – R185 000
- 2014 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Impact – R194 600
- 2015 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R221 300
- 2016 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R231 700
- 2017 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R258 200
- 2018 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R265 200
- 2019 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R274 600
- 2020 Toyota Corolla 1,3 Esteem – R288 800
- 2021 Toyota Corolla 1,8 XS – R387 800
- 2022 Toyota Corolla 1,8 XS – R409 600
- 2023 Toyota 1,8 XS CVT Hybrid – R543 900
According to an inflation calculator, over this 20-year period, South Africa has experienced an increase of 175% with an average annual increase of 5,5%. At first glance, this doesn’t correlate with the more drastic increase in pricing above and the answer isn’t as straightforward as expected.
Serving as Toyota’s honest and appealing sedan offering during this time, the Corolla has evolved and has now emerged as a more premium model offering hybrid technology in its most affordable trim level. Between 2003 and 2023, the Corolla experienced a price increase of 427% with the sharpest rise occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic when the entry-level 1,3 Esteem model became the 1,8 XS.
While 2023 has served as the first occasion in its history that an entry-level Corolla sedan has included hybrid technology and breached half a million rand, all prior years are a better indication of the rise of inflation in South Africa, with costs in 2022 being just above R400 000. With the market preference evolving more in favour of SUVs, Toyota’s Corolla nameplate is now also available as the Corolla hatchback and the Corolla Cross which is the most popular of its stablemates.
Priced at R404 400 for its entry-level offering, the Corolla Cross has subjectively evolved into what the Corolla sedan was over a decade ago serving as Toyota’s answer to a spacious and practical mobility solution. With this considered, the automotive industry still reflects a steeper rise in inflation meaning cars in South Africa are getting more expensive.
With this in mind, browse over 26 000 new and used vehicles and find your next purchase with CARmag.
The post The Cost of Inflation – How Expensive is a Toyota Corolla Now vs 20 Years Ago appeared first on CAR Magazine.
