We got to see Toyota’s iQ in production form at the last Geneva Motor Show, and so far, we like what we see. We’re still waiting for specific details regarding what will power the “small yet premium ” 3+1 and whether or not it’ll make it over to the states. Already, though, we are hearing that there could be a larger version of the vehicle built on the same platform. Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose? Maybe, but it could also help Toyota to defray the cost of the vehicle, which shares no major components with other Toyota models. The larger model could allow Toyota to compete with both the smart fortwo and the Mini, not to mention VW’s upcoming up!.
In other iQ news, Toyota is reportedly not planning on adding a hybrid option to the iQ, instead relying on a choice of two gas and one diesel-powered engine options. The reasoning behind not offering a hybrid relates again to the size of the vehicle. There’s just no room to store a battery. Plus, the battery would add too much weight to the little car. Stop/start, though, is expected to make an appearance here.
Toyota through its sole agent PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) won 33.25 percent of car sales in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2008, the company`s president director Johnny Darmawan said here on Monday.
In the first quarter of this year the total car sales in Indonesia were recorded at 135,607 units or an increase by 60.8 percent if compared with the same period a year earlier.
Johnny said that Toyota led the market for all non-commercial vehicle (non-passenger) types such as sedan cars, multifarious vehicle (MPV) and sport vehicles (SUV).
“In the first quarter, we succeeded not only in maintaining our position as a market leader but also in leading all market segments for non-commercial vehicles,” he said.
On the sedan car segment, TAM controlled 41 percent of the sales with 3,548 units while on the 4×2 segment Toyota car was leading with a sale of 37,306 units or 43.1 percent, he said.
The same was also true to the 4×4 market segment, Toyota was leading with a market sale of over 40 percent.
In the first quarter of 2008, Toyota`s sales for Vios and Limo cars which were included in the mini-sedan segment reached 1,410 units (28.6 percent) and 545 units (11 percent) respectively.
The sales of Corolla and Camry which were included in the middle sedan car segment were recorded at 827 units (47.2 percent) and 763 units (46.7 percent).
“TAM`s sales of sedan cars increased 308 percent compared with those in the corresponding period last year. The increase exceeded the national sedan car sales level which rose 177.3 percent,” Johnny said.
The sales of Toyota sedans were ranked first with a market share of 41 percent, followed by Honda (31.8 percent) and Suzuki (14.3 percent).
In the 4×2 (MPV) segment, Toyota led the market with a controlled share of 43.1 percent, followed by Suzuki (15.5 percent) and Daihatsu (14.7 percent).
“In this segment, the highest sales remained with those of Avanza mini buses (16,158 units) and Kijang Innova (14,033 units). It was followed in the third place by Daihatsu Xenia with a sale of 7,778 units,” he added.
There was some alarm a couple of weeks ago when Toyota Motor Co. announced that it was cutting back on production of its Tundra truck and Sequoia sport utility vehicle.
If the Japanese automaker is cutting production, does that mean that the $1.3 billion plant it’s building in Northeast Mississippi is in danger of being scuttled, some wondered? The mid-sized Highlander SUV will be built at the Blue Springs plant, so some of the worried thinking was that a ripple effect could mean potential problems with building the plant.
Rest your fears - that isn’t happening, barring a complete collapse of the auto industry and an implosion of the world’s second-largest automaker.
So why cut production of the Tundra and Sequoia? While sales of the hulking vehicles are higher than a year ago, Toyota expects demand to slow. Given the higher gas prices and other economic worries the move is in anticipation that consumer spending will pull back on big-ticket items.
Tundra sales were, in fact, nearly 17 percent higher in March than a year earlier. Sequoia sales were up nearly 20 percent. So it’s not like the bottom was falling out. However, total Toyota SUV sales - which include the FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Highlander, Land Cruiser and Sequoia - were down nearly 20 percent in March and 15 percent for the year.
Highlander sales, by the way, were down 0.2 percent in March but were up more than 7 percent for the year.
And while Toyota will be trimming production, it’s not laying anybody off.
Other automakers off, too
But Toyota wasn’t the only automaker to post a less-than-stellar truck and SUV sales in March.
GM’s truck and SUV sales dropped 22 percent in March; its Hummer brand sales were down 29 percent.
At Ford, sales for trucks and large SUVs fell 17 percent. Even its popular F-Series pickup, the best-selling truck for 31 years, were down 24 percent.
Chrysler’s light truck sales fell nearly 22 percent. Its Jeep brand had sales drop 12 percent.
Honda’s truck and SUV sales declined 12 percent.
Nissan’s truck and SUV sales dropped 20 percent. The company’s Titan pickup plummeted 45 percent while its Armada SUV plunged 43 percent
Auto analysts say - no surprise - that small car sales are faring much better, with four-cylinder vehicles gaining in popularity.
Will auto sales improve? Some automakers are hopeful that the economic stimulus package that consumers will be getting in the next few months will spur buying.
Some rough months likely are still ahead for the industry before it gets better.
But thankfully, the building continues in Blue Springs. And in Dorsey and Baldwyn.
Toyota Motor Corp and General Motors Corp are recalling more than 662,000 vehicles sold in the United States due to defects in power windows, the two companies said on Wednesday.
Toyota will recall 539,500 Corolla and Matrix vehicles for the 2003 and 2004 model years, it said in a statement.
GM said it would recall 122,598 Pontiac Vibe hatchbacks, which share the same platform with Toyota’s Matrix and are built by GM in a joint venture with the Japanese automaker.
On vehicles equipped with power windows, the driver and front passenger glass bolts may loosen and cause the door glass to separate from the window regulator, Toyota said. Vehicles equipped with manual windows are not subject to the recall.
Toyota will notify vehicle owners by mail, beginning in late April. It advised owners to contact their local Toyota dealer for inspection and repairs.
Replacement of the driver and front passenger door glass bolts will be done at no charge, Toyota said.
Toyota has so far resisted expanding its dealer body in the wake of the Japanese automaker’s unprecedented climb up the sales charts. In eight years, Toyota has gone from having 15 million of its vehicles on the road to 22 million today. So far dealers have been able to keep up with the torrid sales pace, but at the service end, dealerships are busting at the seams. In an attempt to alleviate some of that pressure for landlocked dealers, Toyota has piloted off-site service centers and oil change centers. The early results show that the nine dealers in the pilot received significantly more customer pay (non-warranty) repairs than the average Toyota dealership, which translates into more money for the dealer.
For Toyota owners near dealers with satellite shops, this means your car or truck will be fixed in a more timely fashion, and 15,000-mile checkups won’t land you on a three-week waiting list. We totally understand why Toyota doesn’t want to have more dealerships, but the added service capacity is a no-brainer. Making Toyota owners wait weeks for needed repairs is just bad business.
Toyota has cautiously told the automotive world the Celica will make a European comeback in 2009.
Markus Schrick, vice president of Toyota Deutschland was speaking to Automobilwoche about the possibility of speed restrictions on the autobahn before breaking the news.
Mr Schrick said Toyota plans to introduce a replacement for the Celica sport coupe in Europe in 2009. The Celica - which had the reputation of being a hairdresser’s car by the end - was discontinued worldwide in 2005.
Having launched the TRD brand in Australia backed up by a massive marketing campaign, it seems that Toyota has listened to the calls of millions. The brand desperately needs sports cars outside of the Japanese market to improve its image.
Lexus - Toyota’s luxury division - will soon introduce the IS-F which will become the company’s flagship performance model. Toyota is also working on a new Supra, rumoured to be hybrid-powered.
Toyota’s presence at the Detroit auto shows past has trumpeted its big, big, big trucks and SUVs, from the new Tundra to the Sequoia. But this year coming, with fuel-economy rules changing, Toyota is staking out some greener territory with a concept pickup truck derived — like Honda’s Ridgeline — from passenger-car running gear.
The A-Bat concept, Toyota says, returns the company to its compact truck roots. Penned at the company’s southern California design center, CALTY, the A-Bat sits on a unibody architecture and uses a version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system for “excellent fuel economy,” Toyota says.
The A-Bat is smaller than Toyota’s mid-size Tacoma pickup, which is based on a traditional ladder frame. Toyota says the smaller dimensions and car-based running gear would give a production version of the A-Bat more car-like handling and a smooth ride. The concept sits on 19-inch wheels for a dash of truck tougness.
The most important feature, the truck bed, is a four-foot affair with a flexible pass-through that adds another two feet to the bed. The putative 4×8 sheet of plywood will fit in the A-Bat, and taller cargo can ride in the cabin, poking through a sliding panel. The bed also includes formed-in lighting, a first aid kit and flashlights, as well as an AC power outlet. The bed panels slide around to expose more storage areas, and the bed floor also slides to expose a storage drawer, like Honda’s Ridgeline has its storage locker below the bed.
The A-Bat’s cockpit is more unconventional than, say, a Dodge Ram Mega Cab. A center console incorporates an AC/DC portable power pack that can be used to run tools, computer or even give a jump start. Carbon-fiber-look trim is teamed with rim on the doors and instrument panel than can be personalized. And the four-seat cabin offers flexible seats that fold down for bed space, or retract beneath the cargo bed entirely.
High-tech features in the concept include a portable navigation system, wireless internet, a music hard drive, and solar panels on the roof that capture energy and use it to charge the navigation system and power pack.