Asia Bizz » Toyota

Auto Expo 2012 – Toyota announces launch of new Prius

Nicholas — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:45:02 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese auto giant, Toyota, has announced the launch of the new variant of its mid sized sedan Prius at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012. The Prius was launched in the global market in the year 1997, when Toyota entered the Indian market through a partnership with the Kirloskar Group.

The new mid sized sedan has been priced between the range of Rs. 27.39 lakhs and Rs. 29.40 lakhs. The company claims that the new compact hybrid sedan has exceptional fuel efficiency as well as powerful driving performance from the original Prius.

Moreover, the company has also introduced a new technology in the form of Solar Ventilation System along with the present battery technology. The new feature ventilates inside the cabin when it is parked with the help of the electricity generated by the solar panel on the moon roof.

Shekar Vishwanathan, the Deputy Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar Motors at the Auto Expo 2012, said that the introduction of the Prius was the company’s attempt to bring advanced technology to the Indian market with an aim to initiate and encourage the hybrid market in India. Vishwanathan also added that he hopes to see more Prius customers, which will contribute to the growth of the Indian hybrid market which will lead to a greener tomorrow.

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Toyota Camry earns ‘recommended’ status by Consumer reports

Anita — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:31:11 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese based auto company Toyota has added another feather to it’s cap. The Toypota Camry, from the sedan segment, has won a ‘recommended’ status from the Consumer Reports Magazine. The revamped Camry is already the best selling sedan in the US and has got the status from the magazine which was earlier critical to some of the Japanese automakers models.

The 2012 Camry from Toyota went on sale in the global market in the month of October 2011 and has been evaluated for the February 2012 issue of the magazine which is published by the Yonkers – a New York based Consumer Union.

The review of the sedan stated that the Camry has good interiors with more responsive handling and better fuel economy than before. Historically too, Toyota has scored well in Consumer Reports Review despite the fact when the magazine said that it will scrutinize the brand more closely back in the year 2007, due to the problems found in the Tundra pickup.

In the month of August, the magazine declined to recommend Honda Motor Co’s 2012 Civic, which was a car that was earlier favored. Since then, Honda has said that it is considering revisions to the Civic without elaborating. The Camry has been the best selling car in the US for the past 13 years.

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Toyota recalls more than 550,000 cars globally to rectify steering defects

Samron Jude — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:50:38 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese auto giant Toyota Motors has called for a recall on November 9, 2011, of more than 550,000 vehicles across the world to rectify a common problem. Most of the vehicles have been recalled from the US for some problem related to the crankshaft pulley on the engine.

Due to this problem, the vehicle could become harder to steer for the driver of the car. The sales unit of the US said that if the problem was not corrected, then there are possibilities that the belt from the power steering may come out of the pulley.

The recall from the company will be effecting 137, 000 Lexus vehicles and 283, 200 Toyota Brands in the United States. The recall also includes the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Sienna and Highlander.

Dion Corbett, the spokesman of Toyota, said that some 38,000 cars have been recalled in Japan which also include 25,000 cars in New Zealand and Australia. Corbett also added that till now there have been no accidents reported, but 79 reports about the defect dating back in the year 2007 have been received. The reputation of the car brand has been affected due to the many recalls by the company in the past few years.

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New vehicle sales at an all time low in Japan this April

Nicholas — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:57:03 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japan has been struck by grave tragedy as a result of the March 2011 tsunami-earthquake. Presently, the Asian country is also facing an all time low of automobile sales and the month of April has seen the lowest record sales of new vehicles in Japan. New vehicles in Japan sold at a record of 1,85,673 units in the month of April 2011.

Two associations in Japan called the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association, have said that the rate at which the sales have reduced is a huge rate; and way back in January 1968, was the last lowest sales with 1,98,693 units sold.

The reason behind the drop in sales is also related to problems of parts faced by automakers. Companies like Toyota, Nissan, Honda have lowered their production of vehicles and some of them were also forced to stop due to the shortage of spares and car parts. Toyota, the largest automaker in the world, has also faced problems as their not able to meet the export demands specially from the north-American markets.

Experts say that Japan will be able to start full production of cars by the last quarter of the year.

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Warning of shortage of cars this summer, says Toyota

Agatha Vyland — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:14:38 +0000

Asia Bizz: Toyota Motor Corp has openly informed a lot of US dealers that they might face a shortage of cars this summer in the North American markets, as the production of vehicles in Japan has been hit big time due to theÂ earthquakeÂ and tsunami caused on the 11th of March this year.

The main reason for the problems faced in production by Toyota is due the shortage of parts in Japan. Many car part suppliers got damaged due to the tsunami and the earthquake. Even in the US, auto plants belonging to Toyota are facing a lot of trouble and one day shut downs. This will effect around 25,000 workers in the plants, but the good part is that Toyota will have no lay offs.

The supply of parts is lagging behind by almost 2 months and the factories will resume production soon without any problems. The plants in Japan will go on a annual break in the month of May. This is the time when the Japanese plants will be shut.

Many dealers in The US are facing shortage of cars and this has become a cause of worry for dealers across the world. Toyota will be shipping cars to North America every two weeks; this will still bring a huge shortage for the demand of Toyota cars is pretty high.

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Toyota’s Prius hybrid voted most fuel efficient car in Japan

Samron Jude — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:17:42 +0000

Asia Bizz: The Toyota Prius hybrid has yet again regained its position as the most fuel efficient car in Japan for the 5th time in 5 years. The Prius hybrid won the top spot in 2010′s government’s most fuel efficient car. The transport ministry of Japan announced this on Thursday, the 31st of March 2011.

Toyota Prius – Most economical car in Japan now for 5 straight years

The Toyota Prius can give around 38.0 kilometers per litre of fuel. The other brands of cars following the Toyota Prius were the Lexus CT200h with around 34 kilometers per litre of gasoline, which was followed by 3rd spot- the Honda’s Civic hybrid with 31 kilometers per litre of fuel. The decision for the rating of these cars was made by the transport and tourism department of Japan.

Among the smaller players in the Japanese markets, the Daihatsu Move a 660 cc car secured the top position with 27.0 kilometers per litre of petrol and the 2nd spot was taken by Mira, with 26.0 kilometers per litre of fuel.
The third spot was shared by Suzuki’s WaganR and the Alto Lapin, as well as the AZ-Wagon by Mazda; these three cars all shared a common efficiency of 25 kilometers per litre of fuel.

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Honda Recall – Half A Million Cars Recalled Due To Brake Problem

Samron Jude — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:56:54 +0000

Asia Bizz: Honda Recall – Half A Million Cars Recalled Due To Brake Problem

Honda Recall Oct 2010 – Honda Motor Company, Ltd. announced that they have recalled their Odysseys and Acura RLs models, sold from 2005 to 2007, due to brake problems. The U.S. division of Honda Motor Corporation stated that they will be recalling 471,820 Acura RLs and Odysseys, as there are many concerns with the braking system in these models.

The main reason behind the recall is that the non-Honda branded brake fluid was causing the rubber seal to dry out in the brake master cylinder. This resulted in fluid leakage.

In a statement, Honda said, “A leak of brake fluid could lead to a change in brake fluid feel and, overtime, a degradation in braking performance, increasing the risk of a crash.”

Just a few days back, Toyota had announced a very similar recall and the problems also were similar as the ones mentioned by Honda. The Toyota recall applied to several models of their Lexus line.

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Toyota Motor Corp. Shuts Dow Plant in Thailand

Nicholas — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:55:15 +0000

Carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. – which happens to be the worldâ€™s biggest carmaker – will reportedly stop production at a Thai plant, as it plans to move its output into the Southeast Asian nation.

According to the company spokeswoman Monika Saito, Toyota will shift production of the Hilux Vigo and Fortuna trucks to two of its three other factories in the country from the end of May 2010 onwards.

However, Saito also said that Toyotaâ€™s sales in Thailand in the first four months of this year increased by 43 percent to about 92,000 units from a year earlier,and that production and sales were in no way affected by the political unrest in Thailand.

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Consumer Reports Helps Lift Warning On Toyota Lexus SUV

Nicholas — Fri, 07 May 2010 08:29:01 +0000

Certain consumer Reports on Friday have helped lift the warning for people not to buy Toyota Motor Corp’s Lexus GX 460 SUV , after the automaker recalled vehicles for repairs.

According to reports, car giant Toyota shut down sales on April after Consumer Reports warned that the 2010 Lexus GX 460 was a safety hazard due to certain rollover concerns when the car takes turns.

According to Reuters,

“Toyota and its dealers resumed sales of the luxury SUV on April 29, after finding a fix for some 9,400 consumer-owned vehicles and making changes in production of new ones.”

Reports say that Toyota’s top ratings for quality have suffered greatly after more than 9 million of its vehicles have been recalled in the past few months.

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Prius problems deepen Toyota woes

sharjil s — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:58:04 +0000

Toyota’s troubles multiplied its flagship Prius hybrid became the latest model to be targeted in an expanding web of US investigations. Toyota decided to recall an estimated 270,000 Prius cars in Japan and the US to fix the brake problem.

The Japanese automaker has been hit by a whirlwind of safety concerns around the globe and US authorities are scrambling to assure concerned public and angry lawmakers who have begun their own probes into vehicle defects.

The admission of a brake design flaw with its star green car and the subsequent US probe are major new blows that could not have come at a worse time for the world’s largest automaker.

Toyota was already under fire in the US for its handling of massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide â€œmore than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles â€œdue to accelerator trouble.

The latest developments were particularly worrying for Toyota because the Prius has created a global buzz and been Japan’s top-selling car since June â€œahead of its main rival, Honda’s Insight.

Toyota had sold nearly 1.5 million Prius vehicles in 40 countries as of August 31 since the first version’s launch in 1997, making it the world’s most popular hybrid car.