Toyota Working To Improve European Sales

Europe hasn’t been all that kind to Toyota as of late. The company has had it shares of problems with the stagnant sales of its European vehicles, which goes as far back as March 2007. However, Toyota isn’t giving up on this market just yet. The company has made plans to launch an assault by flooding the European market with a total of 18 new vehicles until the end of 2009.

As part of its assault, Toyota will be launching the new Toyota Avensis. This new model will first be making an appearance at the upcoming Paris Motor Show before it hits a distributor near you. Other vehicles that are in line to penetrate the European market are the all-new Toyota Prius and its Lexus counterpart. These two vehicles will be available nationwide during the first half of next year.

But even though Toyota will be launching a full scale assault to recover its losses in Europe, the company isn’t expecting to get any returns soon. According to the forecast made by Toyota, its return of investment might come back by 2010. It isn’t expecting any sales boom this year or next year. As a result, Toyota has decreased their sales quota for the year and 2009 as well.

However, the bright side here is that despite dwindling sales in the Europe proper, sales in its eastern part have increased. This boost in sales has prompted Toyota to sell a total of 200,000 vehicles to Russia. The company will also work on improving its European R&D center by adding 250 employees, a new test track and bigger workshop.

Hopefully, these plans of Toyota materialize real soon. With the people in the United States keeping a tight lid on their expenses, improved sales in Europe will help Toyota make up for whatever losses it may incur in the West.

Source: Left Lane News

Three Is A Charm For Toyota

If you’re a Toyota enthusiast, then you should know that there are three reasons why you should be at this year’s Paris Motor Show: a new Avensis, a new iQ and new Urban Cruiser. Now before you hop on a plane and fly off to Paris, you might want to get an idea as to what these upcoming vehicles can actually do.

First up is the new Toyota Avensis. Slated to be a European release, the new four-door sedan will be equipped with an engine that’s able to reduce the C02 emission it produces while in action. It’s also designed to have a smaller deck lid than its predecessor, as well as larger rear taillights and stronger shoulder lines. Reports have been circulating that this new sedan will be available as early as January of next year.

Next is the much anticipated production model of the Toyota iQ. Considered the smallest 4-seater in the automotive industry (it’s said to be less than 3 meters in length), this “mini-mean” machine is able to offer all-around protection, by offering both a front set of airbags and a rear window curtain shield airbags. Its C02 emissions are reduced as well, with the iQ going for 99g/km.

Last on the list is the Toyota Urban Cruiser. Despite being an off-road vehicle, just like the first two Toyota vehicles, the Urban Cruiser is also built to produce minimum C02 emissions. Based on reports, its 1.4-liter D-4D diesel engine only produces as little as 133 g/km. Now that’s probably less than what the other off-road vehicles out there produce. Aside from that, it also sports an All-Wheel Drive (AWD) feature, making it easy for its aspiring owners to maneuver the vehicle with ease.

Now you know what’s in store for you, go ahead and hop on to the next flight to Paris. Just in case you do push through in dropping by at the motor show, Toyota’s booth can be found at Hall 4 of the exhibition centre.

Sources: AutoChannel, AutoBlog

Customized Prius Courtesy Of Three Guys With Great Eyes

This is what a Prius looks like with practically nothing on it except the bare essentials. Classy, yet you know that something’s missing. It’s like it’s in need of a little excitement that will take it away from its square outlook in life.

This, on the other hand, is what a Prius would look like if left in the hands of a couple of creative geniuses. Well, three to be exact. Swedish natives Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrkare are the people responsible for this spiced-up looking Toyota Prius. Now what was the reason behind their attempts to spice up an ordinary looking car? Well, they just wanted to prove that the Prius doesn’t have to look boring.

So to convert the otherwise “boring” Prius shown at the top to something that resembles the fired up version you see just above this paragraph, they had to practically revamp the whole car. They created a body kit based on the Volvo XC90, got rid of the back doors and made it a two-door car, reshaped the side windows and got rid of the back windows, added a carbon fiber wind splitter under the front bumper and door sills and also a carbon fiber venture at the rear. Aside from these additions, the guys equipped the car with an air suspension and a set of 20-inch wheels. And that’s only for its exterior.

The inside on the other hand is equipped with a custom dashboard, a center console, a set of racing seats, a 4,400-watt stereo system that has five subwoofers and eight speakers. The best part though is that they managed to incorporate 15 (yes, 15) LCD screens, a tablet PC and gave the car internet access.

All-in-all, this customized Prius took them eight weeks and cost them a whopping $184,275. And this they did just to show that even a boring-looking Toyota Prius can be given a life of its own. Excellent work, guys.

Sources: AutoBlog, Wired, How Stuff Works

Toyota Financial Claims Biggest U.S. Auto Loan Title; Upsets GMAC Financial Services

This year, Toyota has been in a number of battles to lay stake to the claim of being the top dog in the automotive industry. After upsetting General Motors by topping the sales chart last April, the Japanese automaker has managed to score another win thanks to its financial division.

And who did the company run over now? That would be GMAC Financial Services. After being the top lending firm in the United States, Toyota’s Financial Services Division was able to snag the top spot from them after capturing about 6.35% of the market from January through June. GMAC was only able to get 6.2% of that market to land in second place. Although the percentages were close, GMAC clarified that the study conducted by AutoCount – a division of the Experian Automotive Company – failed to include its ties with its two subsidiaries, Nuvel Credit and National Auto Finance. Had they been factored in, GMAC said they would’ve captured 6.72% of the market and top Toyota Financial Services.

But since the study was focused on how a financial service company was able to capture a portion of the market without the help of its subsidiaries, that means Toyota Financial Services is still your current and reigning top auto lender in the U.S. Read them and weep.

Source: AutoBlog

Toyota Firm In Keeping Its Workers

We’re currently facing tough times brought about by the sudden surge in oil prices and food shortage. This has caused a dip in the spending power of not only the people but also of the different companies as well. These companies have encountered poor sales and - in order for them to recover - have laid off a number of its workers to make up for their losses. Thankfully, despite incurring similar losses, Toyota is still doing its best to hold on to its full-time workers from idle production plants.

A total of 4,500 of these workers, while not working on a regular basis, are still employed with the company. Since the production in the plants they’re currently working in has waned a bit, instead of letting them go, Toyota has decided to have these workers trained instead by letting them take classes that focuses on safety, diversity and of Toyota’s rich history. They’re engaged in community service, gardening with some even being tasked to temporarily help lighten the workload of other production plants that are working beyond its expected capacity.

While Toyota is spending around $50 million just to keep these workers busy with training, what’s good about this plan is that Toyota is able to help these workers in retaining their jobs. This allows them to still earn a living despite not working on a consistent basis. Not only that, but this helps Toyota since it ensures that the company will have people on the side that can come in anytime in the event that the business starts to pick up. Honestly, I think this is a far better move than having to go through the arduous process of having to hire and train new workers again, don’t you think? At least Toyota gets to keep those who have been loyal and dedicated to the company ever since.

Source: AutoBlog

Tundra Pickup To Be Sent Overseas

Thanks to the increase in the prices of gas and the decrease in sales in the United States, Toyota is now considering sending off its Toyota Tundra abroad in the hopes of recouping its loses.

The plan to export Toyota Tundras abroad came about during the Management Briefing Seminars. Steve St. Angelo, President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc., announced that the company’s target market would have to be customer’s in the Middle East since they’re the ones least affected by the increase in oil prices.

As part of its plan of sending off its Tundra pickup trucks for overseas customers, Toyota had to shut down the operations of its San Antonio plant starting this August until the middle of November so that the company will be able to clean out its inventory. Once the plant has been able to finish that, it will resume operations with its products to be automatically sent overseas.

Hopefully this plan of selling the Tundra to the Middle East market works. Aside from fuel costs being sold at low prices over there, the area has a lot of desert and rocky terrain which its citizens can easily traverse in with a Tundra pickup truck. So, here’s to the success of this new endeavor Toyota.

Source: AutoBlog

Toyota Goes Green By Planting 100,000 Trees

Each of us has our own way to help maintain and save the environment. We recycle things, we choose paper over plastic, and we dispose of our trash properly. Even though they may seem trivial, these things still contribute to us having a better environment. So when a big corporation like Toyota decides to do its part to help the environment, it just doesn’t rely on simply taking out the trash or recycling things. Oh no. What it does is it plants a total of 100,000 trees in one of their production facilities. Why do that? Well, because that’s how the big boys roll.

But seriously, the planting of 100,000 trees is not just Toyota’s way of showing off. This activity is just one part of the company’s “global sustainable plant activities.” This program aims to have each production facility surrounded by trees. Why trees? Well, aside from helping you get some shade, trees provide clean air and help reduce carbon dioxide. They also provide a home for wildlife and can act as a sound barrier.

So who was the lucky production plant that was first able to benefit from this program? Well, none other than the Toyota Ban Pho Plant located at the Chachoengsao Province of Thailand. Around 10,000 volunteers lined up last August 4 and planted trees around the area of the plantation. These volunteers ranged from employees, local residents and even political figures. Hopefully this production facility in Thailand will be the first of many production facilities that will be given its share of trees. Lord knows that we need a ton of them just to help secure the safety and well-being of our environment.

Source: GreenDaily