Toyota Motor Corp says it will start leasing its new fuel cell hybrid next month as part of its efforts to encourage the widespread use of the zero-emission vehicles.
Japan’s top automaker, which has already won strong interest in its fuel sipping petrol-electric hybrids, will lease one of its Toyota FCHV-adv vehicles to Japan’s environment ministry.
TOYOTA has delayed its plans to become the world’s first car maker to sell more than 10 million vehicles annually, the latest sign that global car makers are bracing for a slowdown as robust sales to developing markets fail to offset losses in the crumbling US market.
The Japanese car maker, which is closing in on General Motors as the world’s largest car maker by sales volume, said it aimed to sell 9.7 million vehicles next year, reversing from the target of 10.4 million vehicles it set a year ago.
Japan’s three largest car makers saw domestic auto production rise in July due to a one-off factor, but the outlook for the industry is still uncertain due to sluggish local demand and the impact of a global economic slowdown on U.S. and European sales.
Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO), Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) and Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO) Wednesday released data showing a jump in July output as year-earlier figures were artificially low due to a major quake that forced the companies to temporarily stop production.
As gas prices topped $4 a gallon this spring, American consumers’ pullback on purchases of large SUVs and pickups hit Detroit’s auto industry like a hurricane.
But what got less attention was the similar upheaval it inflicted on Toyota Motor Corp., the Japanese giant that made its name on small and midsize cars. Having expanded into big pickups, SUVs and luxury cars, Toyota found itself nearly as exposed to Americans’ changing tastes as Detroit was. For the April to June quarter, Toyota’s operating profits in North America fell by 98.9%.
Lexus returns to the annual conference of National Police Fleet Managers on 2–3 September with a range of vehicles well equipped to serve the needs of the nation’s law enforcers.
A full line-up of IS, GS, LS and RX models will be on display at Cheltenham Racecourse, demonstrating the strength in depth of the Lexus brand. Hybrid power cars will be to the fore with the RX 400h and GS 450h presented in full police livery, showing how Lexus has succeeded in combining high performance with excellent fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions through its world-leading powertrain technology.
Cho, who is in the country for the 20th anniversary of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. and the opening of the new transmission line at Toyota Autoparts Philippines, told reporters of the constraints for further plant expansion and growth strategies.
“We have no plan of establishing a new plant in the Philippines because in terms of finished vehicle production capacity, the market is still short,” Cho said.
Lexus returns to the annual conference of National Police Fleet Managers on 2–3 September with a range of vehicles well equipped to serve the needs of the nation’s law enforcers.
A full line-up of IS, GS, LS and RX models will be on display at Cheltenham Racecourse, demonstrating the strength in depth of the Lexus brand. Hybrid power cars will be to the fore with the RX 400h and GS 450h presented in full police livery, showing how Lexus has succeeded in combining high performance with excellent fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions through its world-leading powertrain technology.
After five years generating big headlines and relatively small sales, Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand is at a crossroads.
Toyota executives are rethinking some of the basic principles they set out for the brand - how many and what kind of vehicles Scion should sell - as they work to keep it fresh and innovative.
It’s unclear whether they can do it, and some industry observers have begun to ask whether Scion was a misstep by Toyota’s usually sure-footed strategists.
Lee White, president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development released a statement Wednesday concerning the penalties handed down by NASCAR Wednesday against Joe Gibbs Racing.
Toyota Racing Development.gifNASCAR docked drivers Joey Logano and Tony Stewart 150 points each and put both on probation through Dec. 31. Logano, an 18-year old Middletown native, was making his ninth Nationwide Series start at Michigan. NASCAR also fined the crew chiefs for both of the Gibbs Nationwide Series teams $50,000 and suspended both indefinitely while also suspending five other crew members between the two teams.
The Detroit News is reporting group vice president and general manager for Toyota of the Americas, Bob Carter, has confirmed the 2010 Toyota Prius will be debuting at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and will be joined by a uniquely styled and appointed version for Lexus. The Prius was set to move upmarket relative to its former iterations, but with a Lexus version now on the way, Toyota’s own marketplace may be getting crowded. But the bigger story is how this news makes things far more interesting for January’s Detroit Auto Show.
