Trademarked in Vietnam, could the Toyota Corolla Hatchback make an ASEAN debut?

Toyota recently registered both the Corolla Hatchback’s name and design in Vietnam, fuelling speculations that the model could be introduced in the country.

The trademark filing was reported by Vietnamese media, which mentioned that the Corolla Hatchback was just one of many names registered by Toyota in Vietnam.

After all, rivals like Mazda offers both the sedan and hatchback variants of the Mazda 3 in Vietnam, though the sedan variant outsells the hatchback variant by a fair margin. 

To recap, the current-generation Toyota Corolla Hatchback is sold in selected markets across the globe, including Japan, Australia, Europe, and the US. It gets several powertrain options, including a turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine as well as a 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid.