Toyota News

You know the economy is experiencing hard times when even industry leader Toyota announces a major profit warning. Toyota is expected to suffer its first drop in operating profit in more than nine years, due mostly to falling U.S. sales and a stronger yen, and most analysts are predicting profits...

Toyota has confirmed it will join what is quickly shaping up to be one of the toughest automotive segments to compete in, the ultra-low cost vehicle sector established with the unveiling of the Tata Nano in January. This is set to one of the fastest growing segments in the world with potentially...

Toyota's youth-oriented company Scion has been featuring flagging sales of late, which has inspired the Japanese auto manufacturer to enter the famed Formula D1 'Drifting' series with the Scion tC. The sports coupe tC was originally built as a front-wheel drive car, a format that isn't very...

Reports emerged this week claiming the Japanese government helped fund the development of the first generation Toyota Prius more than ten years ago. Toyota has since denied all claims, which were originated from a recent interview with Chrysler exec Jim Press who was working for Toyota at the time...

Toyota’s grip around Subaru is set to get tighter with news coming out of Japan claiming the auto giant is planning to increase its 8.7% stake in Subaru to around 17%. The final decision will depend on whether or not the move gets approval from Japan's Fair Trade Commission. The transaction...

In what may lead to a new trend among carmakers, the cash-rich ones at least, Toyota has opened a new shopping mall aimed at selling and promoting its cars. The new site is located in Yokohama, Japan, and features the usual assortment of restaurants and specialty stores you would find in any...

After a bright start six years ago Scion’s sales have tanked and unless action is taken things are set to get worse. The Toyota budget brand sold just 130,000 cars last year, down 25% on the previous year, and officials are predicting volumes to remain unchanged this year. Most of the blame...

The oddly-chosen teaser for the Scion Hako concept should have been a hint that the vehicle itself would be, well, unique. And that is about the most gracious way to describe the oddly boxy yet curvaceous creature that is the Hako concept. Inspired by the Scion xB, it takes that car's design...

Toyota is widely recognized for its reliability and quality but the past 12 months have seen a number of major product recalls that have tarnished the carmaker's reputation. At the same time Toyota has risen to become the world’s biggest carmaker, producing a record 9,497,754 vehicles last...

On the eve of the 2008 championship season, the biggest Toyota boss has asked the Japanese carmaker's F1 team to deliver its first race win. Despite having a front-running annual budget since the Cologne based outfit debuted in 2002, Toyota has in more than 100 grands prix so far failed to collect...

A number of Europe’s major carmakers used this week’s Geneva Motor Show to unveil new concepts combining the frugalness of a compact diesel engine with the fuel-saving capability of a hybrid electric drivetrain. Some of the concepts, such as Volkswagen’s new TDI Hybrid, return...

By now most of us are well aware of the benefits that lithium-ion batteries are purported to bring to hybrids: lighter weight, longer range and better power. We've also heard the downsides of lithium-ion batteries: unexpected fires and explosions, heat, and high costs. Toyota, already slow to join...

With the press days for this week’s Geneva Motor Show approaching its end, attention now turns towards the upcoming New York Show falling at the end of this month. Toyota’s youth-oriented brand Scion has now released a teaser of one of its new concept cars planned for the show but...

Toyota’s FT-HS hybrid sports car concept has long been rumoured to be the precursor to the next-generation Mark V Supra but until now we’ve never had any official confirmation or even a suggestion that the two cars are in fact related. Now, on the eve of the Melbourne Motor Show, where...

Toyota is considering launching smaller and more efficient models in the U.S. to help improve its fleet average fuel economy levels in light of stricter CAFE regulations scheduled to roll in over the next decade. At the top of the list is the recently revealed Urban Cruiser, a compact SUV...

The compact SUV-crossover market is set to see a stiff increase competition with news today that Toyota will be showcasing a new crossover at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. The new model is called the Urban Cruiser and it will be positioned below the current RAV4 SUV as a B-segment vehicle...

At the upcoming Geneva Motor Show Toyota will roll out a new production ready version of its iQ minicar that will be much closer to the final model due next year than the original concept car from last year’s Frankfurt Show. The new iQ will serve as Toyota’s entry-level model and at...

Toyota seems to be doing everything it can to take driving out of the hands of its drivers. Their Lexus brand has been pushing self-parking mechanisms (with varying degrees of success) for several years now. Now the world's biggest auto seller is tying its brake-assist technology in with satellite...

Back in November Toyota’s German Chief Markus Schrick confirmed Toyota was working on several new sports cars including a replacement for the Celica, and now Japanese magazines are claiming the new model will arrive as early as next year. The new car is said to be the joint-effort of a...

Toyota’s budget brand Scion announced today that its second limited-production model for the 2009 model year would be the new tC Release Series 4.0 (tC RS 4.0 for short). Due to hit showrooms in early March, the car will first make its debut at this week’s Chicago Auto Show. The 2008...