| Rumor Mill: Tiny Toyota Endo May Go Into Production | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 2:46:30 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO — If the world's automotive Web sites are to be believed, Toyota is considering putting the diminutive Endo into production as a potential rival to the Smart. The story was first published in the online edition of Automobilwoche, but the site did not offer corroborating information. However, British car magazine AutoExpress ran an article recently that claims that disguised Endos "have already been spotted testing in Japan." Endo was unveiled last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Designed by Toyota's European ED2 design studio, it took a leaf from the Smart textbook. The distinguishing feature of the Endo is that, although only 10 feet long, it can accommodate four people. Toyota already has such a vehicle in its European lineup. Called the Aygo and made at the joint Toyota-Peugeot factory in the Czech Republic, it is already a player in the segment where the company would position a production Endo.... | |
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| | | Toyota's U.S. Sales Surge As General Motors Stalls | | Posted Wednesday, October 04, 2006 2:46:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Toyota Motor Corp. yesterday reported booming U.S. sales in September, setting a pace that continues to rattle the world's other major auto companies. Sales of Toyota vehicles soared 25 percent last month compared with last September. General Motors Corp.'s sales dropped 3 percent, and the automaker announced more production cuts for later in the year. .... | |
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| | | Latest Elantra putting wind up Toyota's tail | | Posted Sunday, September 03, 2006 8:46:15 PM by Blog57 Team | | Gold Coast, Australia - A few months ago an American interviewer asked the CEO of Toyota Japan from which company he expected the biggest challenge in the future; Ford or General Motors? "Neither," replied the Toyota boss. "The company I fear the most is Hyundai." Having just returned from the world launch of the new Hyundai Elantra in Australia, I can verify that the company the Koreans most want to emulate is Toyota. In fact, it's uncanny how similarly the two operate. Take the latest Elantra. Just as the Corolla is Toyota's best seller, so the Elantra is planned to be Hyundai's volume seller .... | |
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| | | Toyota Gains Sales, Asian Carmakers Add U.S. Share (Update1) | | Posted Saturday, September 02, 2006 10:46:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, sold 17 percent more cars and trucks in the U.S. in August, leading Asian companies to their 13th straight month of increased share in the biggest auto market. Toyota sold 240,178 vehicles, a record for the month. Honda Motor Co. posted a 3.2 percent drop as supplies of Civic cars ran short, and Nissan Motor Co.'s sales fell 2.7 percent. South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. raised sales 6 percent. ``Momentum will continue on'' at Toyota, said Wes Brown, an auto analyst at market-research firm Iceology in Los Angeles. ``The product lines that they have, the brand image that they have, will continue to build, albeit at a slower pace. Can they be stopped in the short term? No.'' The Asian automakers' U.S.... | |
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| | | Toyota riding success of rejuvenated subcompact | | Posted Saturday, August 12, 2006 12:46:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | Toyota Canada says it is surprised by the success of its Yaris cars, and that it has no immediate plans to bring its Scion brand to Canada. Yaris hatchbacks and sedans have outsold the Echo models they replaced every month since April. Toyota Canada unloaded 3,721 Yarises alone in July, beating last July's Echo sales by 22 per cent. When Toyota was weighing what to do with its Echo nameplate last year, it realized it had a problem, says Toyota Canada managing director Stephen Beatty. Women loved the subcompact but hated its econobox image. "And young men would look at them and, even if they liked the style, (would) go, 'I can't be seen in that. It's a chick car,' " Beatty says. So Toyota worked to add cachet to the Yaris hatchback for women and make it more aggressive for men.... | |
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| | | Toyota Boosts Exports, May Cause Political `Problem' (Update2) | | Posted Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:45:49 PM by Blog57 Team | | Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. is setting U.S. sales records and building North American factories faster than any other automaker. The Japanese company may soon reach another milestone by importing a record number of vehicles from its home country. Toyota's shipments to the U.S. are rising for the 10th straight year. At the current pace, they'll top the previous high of 1.02 million units in 1986, surpassing a million for the first time since Toyota made its first Corolla in the U.S. late that year. By tapping plants back home, the world's second-largest automaker has fed its dealers enough vehicles to gain two points of U.S. market share this year, at the expense of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. The risk for Toyota is that the import surge will fan criticism of the company for not ramping up U.S.... | |
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| | | Toyota Recalls Near 800,000 for July | | Posted Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:45:57 AM by Blog57 Team | | Toyota has now recalled almost 800,000 vehicles in July, including 8,500 Prius hybrids as well as some Lexus hybrids sold in the U.S. The Japanese automaker is recalling 418,570 vehicles globally, including 150,000 cars sold in the U.S. and Canada because of a faulty crankshaft sensor. The recall includes 8,500 Prius vehicles and 26,200 Echos in the U.S. Last week Toyota recalled 367,594 SUVs, including hybrids, in the U.S because of loose clips in the floor carpet cover that might cause the accelerator pedal to stick. The vehicles involved in that recall are the Lexus RX 330 and Toyota Highlander SUVs from 2004 to 2005 model years, and the Lexus RX 400h hybrid and Highlander hybrid SUVs from the 2006 model year. Earlier in July, Toyota recalled 24,200 vans in Japan.... | |
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| | | Asian Stocks Slide for Sixth Day; Toyota Motor, Samsung Decline | | Posted Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:46:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a sixth day, set for the longest losing streak in two months, on concern fighting in the Middle East will keep oil costs high and prompt investors to shift into fixed-income assets. Toyota Motor Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. dropped. ``Everyone's selling because the prospects for stocks are unclear due to the conflict,'' said Takeshi Yamaguchi, who looks after $674 million at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Investors are increasing their holdings of other assets such as bonds.'' The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.8 percent to 117.98 as of 3:38 p.m. in Tokyo, adding to a five-day, 6.1 percent slide. The run of losses is the longest since the six-day period ended May 16.... | |
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