2003 Lexus Gx470. Low Reserve. on 2040-cars

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Toyota sold record 1.52 million hybrids in 2017

Toyota has been selling electrified cars for more than two decades now, launching the Prius hybrid in Japan in 1997. Back in the fall of 2015, the automaker announced a number of goals as part of its "Environmental Challenge 2050." One of those was to sell 1.5 million hybrids (including its Lexus brand) annually by 2020. Toyota has announced that is has already achieved that goal, selling 1.52 electrified vehicles in 2017. That's an 8 percent increase of Toyota's 2016 hybrid sales, and means the company has sold more than 11.47 million electrified vehicles since it began. Toyota says that represents a reduction of more than 90 million tons of CO2. Last year's achievement "is a testament from our customers to the quality, durability and reliability of our electrified powertrains," says Toyota Executive VP Shigeki Terashi, "and, thanks to them, has led us to establish a solid and sustainable foundation for mass producing a more diverse portfolio of electrified vehicles across our range moving forward." Other goals of Toyota's Environmental Challenge 2050 are 30,000 annual fuel cell vehicle sales by 2020, mass production of battery electric vehicles in 2020 and annual electrified vehicle sales of 5.5 million by 2030. These are all part of Toyota's larger goal of reducing new vehicle CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050 (compared to 2010). Prior to 2016, Toyota hybrid sales peaked in 2013, at 1.28 million before slumping slightly in 2014 and 2015. Toyota saw an uptick and a new record in 2016, at 1.4 million, before setting yet another record in 2017, at 1.52 million. Related Video:

2018 Lexus LX 570 drops $5,000 in new 2-row trim

People love SUVs and crossovers, but not everyone uses them to haul a litter of children and a couple of pets. At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, Lexus has debuted the two-row LX 570. The updated model ditches the third row, helping expand cargo capacity by 15 percent without the need to deal with removing the seats. The two-row model comes in a single mono-spec trim, dropping the base price to $86,175, which is $5,000 less than the three-row model. The mono-spec trim of the two-row LX means customers only have the choice of exterior and interior colors. Customers still get a full-leather interior, four-zone automatic climate control, power tailgate, roof rails, a moonroof and 20-inch wheels. Parking assist, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are all standard. Cameras on the outside help show blind spots when parking or off-roading. The new model also comes with Lexus's Enform Safety Connect service for 10 years. Customers can call in case of an emergency anytime day or night. The new variant still comes with all of the Toyota Land Cruiser-sourced goodness as the standard LX 570. That means a 5.7-liter V8 making 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque, giving the Lexus a 7,000-pound tow rating. The body-on-frame SUV comes with full-time four-wheel drive and Lexus's Active Traction Control system and Multi-Terrain Select system to handle wheel slip on various road surfaces. Other off-road systems include crawl control and hill-start assist. The two-row 2018 Lexus LX 570 goes on sale next year. Related Video:

Toyota investing $200M in Southern manufacturing

Over the past two years, Toyota has invested more than $2 billion at its North American production facilities, and it apparently doesn't plan on stopping there. To keep up with recent strong sales, Toyota is investing an additional $200 million at its engine plants in the Southern US to increase production capacity of its V6 engines.
The bulk of this money ($150 million) will go to expand Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville, AL, which is currently responsible for supplying engines - four-cylinder, V6 and V8 - to eight of Toyota's 12 domestically produced vehicles. That includes the best-selling Toyota Camry (shown above).
Toyota didn't say exactly what improvements are being made to the plant, but this follows last year's $80 million investment in the plant that is set to be completed by next year raising the engine capacity to 750,000 annual units including 362,000 V6s. The remaining $50 million will go to the casting plants of Toyota-owned Bodine Aluminum in Missouri and Tennessee, which supply engine blocks and cylinder heads to the Huntsville engine plant as well as others in Kentucky and West Virginia. Scroll down below for the official press release.