The global popularity of the Toyota Corolla, the world's best-selling motor vehicle, is reflected here in New Zealand, where 200,000 new Corollas have been sold since its introduction almost 40 years ago. Bob Field with the new generation Corolla at the National Customer Center Globally, more than 32 million Corollas have been produced since the first model went on sale in Japan in 1966. The first generation model was available in New Zealand since 1969, where 14 passenger units were sold and the Corolla has now achieved cumulative sales totals of over 200,000 units. The Corolla has been the mainstay of Toyota passenger car sales in New Zealand and accounts for approximately 74% of car sales worldwide. Toyota President and CEO Bob Field said, "The success story of the Toyota Corolla is the best example of Toyota's commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction." Tenth generation model Earlier this year I received many personal letters from grateful Corolla owners who have driven a series of Corollas for several decades.""Although this customer loyalty is the cornerstone of long-standing sales success of Corolla, we have never taken this for granted because loyalty must be earned on a customer-by-customer basis based on individual ownership experiences." "Fortunately, Corolla's industry-leading ratings across a range of factors, including driving pleasure, safety, economy, reliability and resale value serve to re-evaluate the Corolla owner's vehicle choice on a daily basis," Field said. The current lineup consists of three body styles, two trims and two drivetrains. The five door and four-door sedans are powered by a 1.8-liter engine with dual variable valve timing, and the five-door station wagon version comes with a fuel-efficient 1.5-liter engine. The word Corolla means the petals of a flower and the vehicle has humble origins in Japan as a small, affordable car for the domestic market. Upon its debut, the Corolla was the best-selling car in Japan for 36 of the last 40 years. Its phenomenal success means that, on average, a Corolla has been sold somewhere in the world every 40 seconds for the last 40 years. The 10th generation Corolla produces more than one million units per year from factories in 16 countries. In the current American inventory of Toyota products, one of the largest automakers in the world, the Corolla model is the oldest. In addition to being the first car produced by Toyota in the United States, with over 30 million Corolla units sold worldwide, it is also the most popular of the company's automotive lines..