Full reveal: Radical new Toyota Corolla concept brings EV and ICE

Thus, like its Golf and Octavia rivals, the Corolla will not be a pure-electric proposition in its next iteration - helping to sustain its popularity as demand for EVs continues to progress at dramatically different speeds in key global markets. 

"It's about providing everyone with the right choice," said Scott. "We don't want to leave anyone behind."

Asked by Autocar if the concept was a realistic preview of the next Corolla, he replied: "Let's see what happens. With a positive reaction from the show, why not? It's not out of the realms of reality. It could be believable."

Recent concepts from Toyota including the Aygo X Prologue, Sport Crossover and Urban Crossover have evolved into road-ready customer cars with little visual alteration, and the Corolla concept looks just as close to showrooms as those did.

Scott said the concept is "a vision at the moment" but that "a lot of nice comments" would influence the company's decision on whether to put it into production. 

It was designed at Toyota's European design centre in Nice, France, with the aim of totally reinventing the Corolla for a new era, rather than evolving what has gone before.

"When we started the project, we wanted to make a Corolla that people would look at and say 'I can't believe that's a Corolla," Scott said, contradicting the notion that long-running models should be carefully evolved for each generation to remain recognisable.

"The [Corolla] name itself is the continuity, and the direction of making a car which is going to be appealing to a large number of people. But nowadays even your general customer expects good design, something that's more impactful than 10 or 15 years ago."

Regardless of the segment a car operates in, Scott said, "everyone likes to drive a car that looks cool".

It's a similar story of revolution rather than evolution inside, too, where the Corolla's traditional, button-heavy cockpit has made way for a minimalist and tech-centric affair that hints at a new treatment for Toyota's future interiors. 

There are very few physical controls, with all main functions accessed via haptics on the steering wheel, an optional touchscreen on the passenger side or a new satellite touch panel off the steering wheel; and the absence of a transmission tunnel (a clue to the Corolla's EV-first engineering) means the centre console has been swapped for a striking new 'floating' panel that hosts the drive selector and phone pads. 

But the advanced new cabin treatment doesn't indicate an ambition to take the Corolla into pricier territory, Scott clarified.

"I don't think we're trying to take Corolla upmarket or anything like that. I think the Corolla is the Corolla. It's kind of a cornerstone," he said.