Toyota Hybrid Tour arrives at Byward Market/

Curious Canadian drivers invited to test drive a hybrid

OTTAWA, Aug. 15 /CNW/ - Canadian drivers are looking for relief at the
gas pumps - and Toyota’s fuel efficient, low-emission vehicles deliver just
that. To dispel common myths and give Canadian drivers first-hand experience,
Toyota Canada Inc. and the Ontario Toyota Dealers Association are pleased to
bring the Toyota Hybrid Tour to Ontario this August.
The tour features interactive information displays and current models of
Toyota’s hybrid vehicles (Prius, Highlander Hybrid and Camry Hybrid) and
fuel-sipping gasoline models such as the Yaris and Canadian-built Corolla.
Visitors will learn about eco-friendly automotive technology work and can even
attend fuel-efficiency clinics. Drivers will also be invited to test drive one
of Toyota’s many fuel-efficient vehicles.
The tour will make 4 stops across Ontario in August, including Toronto’s
Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Vaughan’s Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, Ottawa’s
Byward Market and Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre. For more
information, visit www.hybridsynergydrive.ca.

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What:    Toyota Hybrid Tour - media are invited to join a test drive,
interview a Toyota Canada spokesperson and view the tour
displays.

Where:   Byward Market - Pedestrian Mall at George Street and
William Street
55 ByWard Market Square, Ottawa, ON

When:    Tuesday, August 19th - 10:00AM - 12:00PM

Regular Tour Hours (August 19 - 24):
Tuesday - Saturday - 9:00AM  - 8:00PM
Sunday  - 10:00AM - 6:00PM

Who:     Bryon Stremler - Toyota Canada Inc.
Manager, Advanced Technology and Powertrain
>>

TRAVERSE CITY — A top U.S. Toyota executive said automakers were unprepared for future regulations and a quick shift by consumers to more efficient cars, but predicted a gradual recovery

Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota division at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, said the auto industry was going through a radical change. “When Ford is considering four cylinders for the F-150 … and Toyota is slowing down production, quite frankly things are seriously out of whack.”

Carter told reporters on the sidelines at the Center for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars here that Toyota will unveil its next generation Prius at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, along with an unnamed Lexus hybrid that will have a completely different design than the Prius. Carter said the new Prius will have improved fuel economy over the current model. “There was significant advancement from first generation to the second and you can expect significant advancement on the third (Prius),” Carter said.

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Carter said it is still “under study” whether Toyota would offer multiple body styles of the Prius.

David Healy, an auto analyst at Burnham Investment Securities, said the key question is how much has Toyota been able to shrink the cost of the Prius.

“They have been trying to reduce the $3,000 to $5,000 premium for a hybrid,” Healy said. Despite new hybrid offerings from Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC in the works, “Toyota clearly owns the hybrid market.”

Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday here it would launch a new five-passenger hybrid next April that would be priced below the Prius and its Honda Civic Hybrid, with plans to eventually sell at least 100,000 in the United States. Honda stopped selling its Honda Accord hybrid because of weak sales. Analysts said the higher price for the hybrid Accord was the main reason.

The auto industry is “going to be in a rough patch for quite some time,” Carter predicted, “with gradual improvements throughout 2009 and then steady progress as we get into 2010 as our economic fundamentals start to regain their sold footing.”

He said the recovery would look more like a Nike “Swoosh” than a sharp incline.

Automakers must react quickly as consumers shift quickly to smaller more efficient cars, Carter said. “There’s no more time outs. The game’s on the line here. We have to radically revamp our lineups…. Our backs are against the walls.”

Carter also said that automakers aren’t ready for higher fuel economy requirements and future regulations like caps on emissions, requirements for zero emission vehicles or new proposals on global warming.

“They’re just around the corner and frankly our industry is not ready for it,” Carter said.

Through July, U.S. auto sales are on pace to average just over 14 million — nearly a two-decade low. For the month of July, sales fell to annualized sales level of 12.5 million vehicles.

Carter said in “the not too distant future” annual U.S. auto sales would top 17 million vehicles, a generally accepted sign of a healthy U.S. auto market. He said that full recovery wouldn’t happen until sometime after 2010, in part because of U.S. demographic trends that will bring millions of new buyers into the market.

“Turbulence is always going to be a part of this business, as this business reacts to the highs and lows of social, political and economics trends,” Carter said. “Sometimes it feels like it’s a double-barreled perfect storm.”

Consumers are demanding more hybrids, more four-cylinder engines “and they want vehicles that exceed 30 miles per gallon,” Carter said. In May, 50 percent of all vehicle sales were four-cylinder engines, the first time that’s happened in U.S. history. Bigger engines have historically been more profitable for automakers to sell.

“That sort of shift rattles every automaker,” Carter said.

Toyota doesn’t see gas prices falling below $3.50 a gallon, Carter said.

But he predicted the truck market will recover, as will the U.S. auto market.