Toyota Japan Is Using A Lottery To Decide Who Gets A GR Corolla

Toyota will sell its sublime GR Corolla allocation via a lottery system in Japan, eradicating the possibility of nasty dealer markups in an attempt to sell cars to the highest bidder.

As you might know, Toyota continues to struggle due to continuing COVID-19 infections and the semiconductor shortage, which means supply is short. Demand for what is arguably the hottest hatch launched this year is exceptionally high, so Toyota Japan had to develop a fair system to allocate units to customers.

The initial run of 570 models will be sold via a lottery. Toyota says additional sales will be available at a later date if there is enough demand. Looking at the current situation in the USA, there's a strong case for another batch to be manufactured.

The online lottery has already opened for the GR Corolla RZ, the only standard model available in Japan. The RZ specification is similar to the USA's Circuit trim, which offers the best blend between comfort, luxury, and performance. In Japan, only 500 RZs are available.

Only 70 Morizo Editions are for sale, and the process takes more effort. You must fill in an application at a GR Garage, a dedicated GR dealership. There are several GR products we don't get in the USA, like the GR Vios and the Hilux GR Sport, all sold through the platform.

After that, the process appears to be the same. Toyota doesn't say whether names will be pulled out of a hat, but the "winners" will be announced on January 6 for the Morizo and January 13 for the RZ. Only then can you negotiate the financing, but your price will be MSRP and not a cent more. The RZ costs roughly $39,000, while the Morizo sells for $53,000.