Toyota Tries to Break Indian Market

The world's largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., is eyeing emerging markets with a new low cost model that was unveiled this week in India. The production version of the 2010 New Delhi Show Etios Concept is available at launch as a four-door sedan model, but will be joined by a five door hatchback called the Etios Liva in April of 2011. 

The company said the Etios has been developed specifically for Indian customers and will be built at a plant in Bidadi, near Bangalore. However, Toyota eventually plans to offer the small sedan in other emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Thailand and possibly certain regions of South America.


The 4.265mm (167.9-in.) long sedan boasts a rather large boot with a luggage space of 595-liters and is powered by a newly developed 1.5L, 16V DOHC engine coupled to a 5-Speed manual transmission. The Etios sedan will be available in four variants, J, G, V and VX, with prices ranging between 4.96 Lakhs and 6.86 Lakhs making it the company's most affordable offering in India. 

Commenting on the launch of the Etios, Mr. Akio Toyoda, President TMC said: “India is a key market for our overall strategic growth plans, and the launch of the Etios is definitely a milestone not only for Toyota in India but for Toyota globally."

"We at Toyota believe, ‘the road makes the car’ and the Etios is a product of real-world testing on roads across India. Our testing has covered a hundred thousand kilometers on every kind of road that Indian drivers encounter, from Kolkata to Mumbai, from the Himalayan foothills to the tip of the Indian peninsula

According to JD Power, Toyota sold a little over 60,000 cars in India through October, compared to 870,000+ sales from Marutti Suzuki, which is the market leader in the country.

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Toyota and Lexus With Six New Hybrids and EV by 2012

Japanese automaker Toyota is readying for a big hybrid fight. Undaunted by the recent drop in hybrid sales, Toyota plans to launch six new hybrid models by end of 2012, one of which will be a Vitz / Yaris hybrid.


In a presentation in Detroit on Monday, Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada explained that two of the six new hybrids will be for Lexus and four for Toyota adding that all of them will be new and not next-generation versions of existing hybrid models.


Some will be hybrid only models (i.e. there will be no gasoline-only variant), though Uchiyamada would not elaborate further as to what body type or segment these new vehicles would be.


The carmaker is also readying an electric vehicle co-developed with Tesla (makers of the all electric Roadster) and possible rival to Nissan's Leaf EV. Uchiyamada has confirmed that this will be shown at the 2010 Los Angeles Motor Show. The new Toyota EV could possibly be the same all-electric small car the automaker had previous stated they were working on.


This comes after a string of recalls (11 million vehicles globally) hurt the brand's image of reliability, something Uchiyamada plants to fix by extending is vehicle development time setting up a team of 100 engineers to audit its production lines.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: WSJ

Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV to Australian

Toyota's Australian arm said on Monday it will add the FJ Cruiser SUV to its range of models late in the first quarter of 2011. 

Australian buyers will get their first taste of the domestic market version with a pre-production model of the retro-styled SUV with the small reverse-opening rear doors at the Sydney International Motor Show on October 15.


"FJ Cruiser has loads of character that isn't found in any other SUV, let alone one that is built for off-road terrain," said Toyota Australia's senior executive director sales and marketing, David Buttner. "It will be a lot of fun to own and drive, satisfying those who want a modern vehicle with the boulder-crawling spirit of Toyota's legendary off-roaders," he added.


No specific details were given about the FJ Cruiser's powertrain options, but Toyota said the Australian market models, which will be imported from Japan, will come with "a powerful engine and dual-range 4WD".


In the U.S., the FJ Cruiser is offered with a 258-horsepower 4.0-liter V6 engine and the choice of two-wheel drive and a five-speed automatic transmission, or four-wheel drive and either an electronically shifted five-speed automatic or a six-speed manual gearbox.


Photo Gallery: U.S. Market 2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser

Lexus Stops Deliveries and May Recall HS 250h after NHTSA Tests Find that Rear-End Crash Leads to Excessive Fuel Spill

Toyota has just issued an official release stating its intention to stop deliveries and conduct a voluntary safety recall of around 17,000 examples of the 2010MY Lexus HS 250h hybrids to address the NHTSA's concerns over the excessive amounts of gasoline that were leaked during a standard rear-end crash test performed by the safety agency.


The Japanese automaker said that during the Lexus HS 250h's development phase it had tested the hybrid car using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 301.


"Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results," said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America. Full press statement after the jump.

Toyota Press Statement
TORRANCE, Calif., June 25, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today filed a Noncompliance Information Report (NCIR) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), informing the agency of the company's intent to conduct a voluntary safety recall of potentially 17,000 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles to address a compliance issue with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 301.

As part of its annual compliance testing program, the NHTSA recently conducted a test of the 2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 50 mph. The vehicle is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 percent overlap. As part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard.

During vehicle development, Lexus tested the HS 250h using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with the FMVSS 301. Lexus is currently working to identify the reason for the different test results and the cause of this noncompliance.

"Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results," said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.

At the present time, Lexus has not identified a remedy to address this issue, but it is working hard to do so promptly and will notify owners as soon as one is developed. Until then, as required by federal law, dealers will not deliver any new vehicles in their inventory that are covered by this NCIR until remedied.

Statement from Mark Templin, Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager

“We are concerned with the results of the annual National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) compliance test on the 2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid. Our engineers conducted similar testing during the development of the new HS 250h and the vehicle performed safely.

“We take the NHTSA’s test results very seriously and appreciate the NHTSA bringing its concerns to our attention. We want to assure our customers that their safety and satisfaction are our top priorities. While we are investigating and vigorously working to understand the different test results, we have stopped delivery of the involved vehicles. As soon as the issue is better understood and/or a remedy is developed, we will contact every owner.

 “Customers who have any questions or concerns should contact their local Lexus dealer or Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987.”