Toyota Studying Corolla Hatchback to Replace Matrix

With its little-loved Matrix axed for the 2014 model year, Toyota might be considering a five-door version of the Corolla as a replacement.

Individual sales figures for the Matrix were never reported. Instead, Toyota lumped its other-named hatchback in with total Corolla numbers. It was a fitting move considering the Matrix is basically a Corolla hatchback with a less obvious name.  Edmunds.com reports that in 2012 the company only sold about 4,300 of the compact hatchbacks; roughly 1.5 percent of the Corolla’s total U.S. sales for that year.

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Hyundai currently offers a five-door version of the Elantra, and Mazda does the same with its bread-and-butter Mazda3. Toyota sales executive Paul Holdridge told Edmunds that the company is studying the possibility of a five-door Corolla to take its place.

Sales staff in Toyota showrooms would pitch customers on the Matrix if they decided a Corolla was too small. The trouble was, most people didn’t seem to realize the car existed. But where the Matrix was is more akin to a Corolla station wagon, the new product would be probably be a shorter hatchback.

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[Source: Edmunds]

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