Toyota to revise design language

Future Toyota vehicles will get a new grille and ‘family face’, as part of company boss Akio Toyoda’s aim to give his cars more emotional appeal. Even though the front-end look is still being decided, Toyota Europe boss Didier Leroy says it will be regular and more recognisable than the current line-up.


Smaller cars will be made to look bigger, rather than vice versa, yet, there will still be differences between ranges to differentiate them, with product groups such as SUVs and sports models obtaining their own look.

The Geneva motor show debuted FT-86 Coupe Concept will show a possible new front-end look for Toyota.

GM - Hybrids push up prices for non-hybrid cars, Toyota disagrees

GM vice-chairman, Bob Lutz believes that the high costs involved in building hybrid vehicles is pushing up the price of non-hybrid cars.

'GM will lose money on hybrids,' he said. 'We will continue to build them - and the cost will be spread across other cars.'

Lutz also said he thinks hybrid cars will never make up more than 10% of the U.S market. In the UK, hybrids make up 0.8% of car sales, according to figures from the SMMT. GM will start to sell its first extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, next year.

Toyota – the biggest maker of hybrids – disagrees with GM's stance on such cars.

A spokesman said: 'We will strive to make a million hybrids a year and as we achieve economies of scale, hybrid prices will come down. Hybrid vehicles are more complex, so there is a premium over non-hybrid vehicles, but we believe the overall cost of ownership, with the lower running costs, outweigh the initial purchase costs over non-hybrid cars.'

Toyota Prius reaches a milestone (EU)

Toyota is rejoicing in selling its 200,000th Prius hybrid in Europe. The sedan hit the European market back in 2000, with sales reaching 100,000 in 2008. However, with the arrival of the Prius III, and a shift in buying trends towards cars which are apparently as greener, Toyota has sold a further 100,000 units in the last two years. In the U.S, the Prius hybrid has sold in excess of 680,000 units since its launch in 1997.

Over the Prius’ 10 years on sale, many enhancements to its Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain saw fuel consumption drop by more than 23% and CO2 emissions plummet by around 26%. This has been achieved despite power increasing by 30%.

The UK is the Prius’ largest European market with more than 1 in 5 sales in the UK. This year’s sales to date are at 6,579 units, almost equalling the 2009 figure in just six months.

Confirming the Prius’ presence as a mainstream model the world over, Toyota expects global sales to reach 2m by the Autumn of this year.

Toyota Auris will be built in the UK

Toyota has announced that the all-new Toyota Auris will be built in the UK at its vehicle manufacturing plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire.

Production of the Auris, the new C-Segment hatchback for Toyota, will begin in the new year and will go on sale to customers across Europe from Spring 2007. UK sales will begin from 1st February, 2007.

Designed and built in Europe, Auris demonstrates Toyota’s commitment to its European production operations. The new hatchback will be built alongside the Avensis at Toyota Manufacturing UK and also alongside the Corolla Verso at Toyota’s plant in Adapazari, Turkey.

The European production locations were confirmed today as Auris made its debut at the Bologna Motor Show.

Designed at Toyota’s European Design Development centre, ED2, in the south of France, Auris will join the highly successful Toyota Yaris and Avensis in helping Toyota to achieve its revised European sales target of 1.2 million units per year by 2008.

Hein Van Gerwen, Managing Director, Toyota Manufacturing UK said: “Auris represents a major step forward for the Toyota brand in Europe and is a crucial vehicle in the competitive C-segment.

“The award of this new model is further recognition of the skill and commitment of all our employees. We will now ensure that every Auris customer receives a superior quality vehicle they can be truly proud to own.”

The Rt. Hon Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, welcomed the announcement. He said: "This commitment is excellent news for the workforce and another show of confidence in the British car industry. It shows that the UK is a good place to invest and to manufacture."

Auris embodies the way forward for Toyota in Europe.

Breaking the mould of current C-segment hatchback design, it has an original and distinctive shape that is ‘short and tall’. Short because it maintains an overall length typical to this segment; tall to maximise interior space and passenger comfort.

Auris sets a new standard for interior design: stylish, spacious and sophisticated. The ‘inside-out’ approach to the interior design means the car has been created around the driver to maximise interior space. The styling with unique design elements, such as the bridged centre console, creates a bold and distinctive environment.

The four grade model line-up will appeal to a broad spectrum of customers. From its launch, Auris will offer plenty of choice: three-door or five-door models with a range of engine and transmission options.

Toyota Auris Hybrid pricing announced (UK)

The all-new Toyota Auris Hybrid will start from £18,950 for the entry-level T4 89g spec, rising to £20,700 for the flagship T-Spirit. The Auris Hybrid is powered by the same 1.8 litre VVT-i petrol engine found in the Prius, and an electric motor giving combined output of 134bhp.

The car will be available in 3 well-specified trim-levels; T4 89g, T4 & T-Spirit.

Entry-level T4 89g features Climate control, CD/MP3 player with USB, x4 electric windows, electrically adjustable/heated door mirrors, 7 airbags, 15" alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, stability and traction control w/ hill-start assist. This model has CO2 emissions of 89g/km with combined fuel economy of 74.3mpg, which translates to over 700 miles on one tank.

Mid-spec T4 adds 'T4 89g' standard equipment plus 17" alloy wheels for £19,200.

Range-topping T-Spirit comes with 17" alloy wheels, leather & Alcantara seats, cruise control w/ speed limiter, Bluetooth w/ steering wheel audio controls, automatic headlights and wipers, smart entry and start and auto-dimming rearview mirror w/ rear camera display. Due to the increase of the alloy wheels, the T4 & T-Spirit models emit 93g/km with overall economy of 70.6mpg.

At £18,950, the Auris Hybrid is not a cheap way into to hybrid motoring. It is only £555 less than the company's entry-level Prius T3 and more than £2,365 more than the entry-level Honda Insight.

Toyota says that Auris Hybrid is close in price to similarly specced rival cars fitted with 2.0 litre diesel engines and says that Auris Hybrid customers and Prius Hybrid customers come from two distinctive groups.

'Prius customers want to make a statement,' said a Toyota spokesman. 'They tend to be style-led early adopters. Auris Hybrid customers will be interested in the mpg and they may also simply prefer a smaller car.'

The new Toyota Prius

The new Toyota Prius, upload feito originalmente por Which? Car.

Toyota has confirmed that the third generation Prius will officially return 72.4mpg combined, while emitting an astonishingly low 89g/km CO2 (qualifying it for free road tax).

Visit the Geneva Motor Show at www.which.co.uk/reviews-ns/geneva-motor-show-2009/index.jsp

Toyota FT-EV Concept Car

Toyota FT-EV Concept Car, upload feito originalmente por Bengal55.

Now much to say about this one, beyond it being another electric vehicle concept from Toyota. It's about the size of a Smart Car. To me those rear lights remind me of a Satellite or space craft.

2008 Toyota Highlander Sport

2008 Toyota Highlander Sport, originally uploaded by JDPower.com Photography.

For full size images, and to see the rest of the photos from this series, see the 2008 Toyota Highlander Sport shoot on JDPower.com.

Toyota Celica

Toyota Celica, originally uploaded by dhy22001.

Toyota FT-HS 2009

Toyota FT-HS 2009, originally uploaded by Jaime Olmo.

The June '07 print edition of Automobile is full of juicy information, and one of the more significant bits of news appears in a sidebar on page 30. According to the magazine, Toyota has given the FT-HS hybrid sports car the green light, and the Calty-designed production version will make its debut in 2009. It's being billed by Automobile as the spiritual successor to the late, lamented Supra -- a position that's hard to argue assuming you can look past the probable lack of an inline 6. Like the concept, the two-seat FT-HS will pair the company's Hybrid Synergy Drive with an as-yet-undetermined gasoline engine (the concept utilized a 3.5-liter V6). Power and pricing aren't discussed, but if the numbers thrown around when the concept was introduced -- 400 horses and mid-level dollar amounts -- are feasible, the thing should have plenty of takers.

[Source: Automobile, June 2007]

Toyota Hybrid Sports Car

Toyota Hybrid Sports Car, originally uploaded by SAITOR.

Toyota Hybrid Sports Car - Toyota Showroom Champs Elysees - Paris

2008 Toyota Corolla

2008 Toyota Corolla

2008 Toyota Corolla images

2008 Toyota Corolla interior

Brits Get Limited Edition Toyota Hilux Invincible

Toyota launches a new limited edition range topping model of its Hilux pickup truck for the UK market. The model is based on Hilux Invincible 200 Double Cab powered by the 3.0-liter D-4D diesel engine which regularly pumps out 169bhp and 343NM of torque, this new Invincible limited edition model has a Toyota Motor Sport engine performance kit raising maximum power to 194bhp and 430 Nm of torque. Despite the power increase the fuel consumption and emissions remain the same.

Toyota has also made to minor changes to the look of the vehicle, the exterior gets a news stainless steel mesh grille and a black metallic livery with a set of metallic finish alloy wheels. The interior gets a new two-tone leather upholstery with heated front seats and a full-map touch screen satellite navigation.

Production is to be limited to just 500 units of the model with pricing to start from £21,540.

Gallery: Toyota Hilux Invincible Limited Edition

Brits Get Limited Edition Toyota Hilux Invincible

Toyota launches a new limited edition range topping model of its Hilux pickup truck for the UK market. The model is based on Hilux Invincible 200 Double Cab powered by the 3.0-liter D-4D diesel engine which regularly pumps out 169bhp and 343NM of torque, this new Invincible limited edition model has a Toyota Motor Sport engine performance kit raising maximum power to 194bhp and 430 Nm of torque. Despite the power increase the fuel consumption and emissions remain the same.

Toyota has also made to minor changes to the look of the vehicle, the exterior gets a news stainless steel mesh grille and a black metallic livery with a set of metallic finish alloy wheels. The interior gets a new two-tone leather upholstery with heated front seats and a full-map touch screen satellite navigation.

Production is to be limited to just 500 units of the model with pricing to start from £21,540.

Gallery: Toyota Hilux Invincible Limited Edition