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Toyota delays Mexico plant as it plans U.S. plant with Mazda

TOKYO — Toyota will push back the start of operations at its scheduled new plant in Mexico, to the first half of 2020 from the initial plan of 2019, the company said on Thursday. Japan's top automaker had initially planned to start building the Corolla sedan at the $1 billion Guanajuato plant but said last week it would switch production to a new U.S. factory to be built with Mazda. Toyota said the delay was necessary to adjust its supply chain in Mexico to produce the Tacoma pickup instead of the Corolla compact car. That factory could also build sport utility vehicles, a Toyota spokesman in Mexico said last week. "With the production model change to the Tacoma pickup, the start of production will consequently be in the first half of 2020," a Toyota spokeswoman said. "However, we will make our utmost effort to advance the timing in order to minimize the impact to suppliers and the local community." Until the scheduled start of the joint venture plant with Mazda in 2021, Toyota will supply the Corollas that were initially slated to be built in Mexico from its factories in Mississippi and Japan, the company said.Related: Mazda-Toyota partnership has us dreaming of a rotary hybrid Reporting by Makiko YamazakiRelated Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Qualcomm invests in Chargemaster, gamers will appreciate these Toyota Prius C ads

Chargemaster has received an investment from Qualcomm for wireless charging in the UK. Of the 27,000 charging stations it has already installed, 10,000 are ready to be adapted for inductive charging, according to Chargemaster. Dr. Anthony Thomson of Qualcomm says that with this investment (of a currently undisclosed amount), "we are taking another step towards deployment of a convenient and easy to use WEVC network." The convenience of wireless charging not only makes life easier for current EV drivers, but could also help convince more people to make the switch to electric driving. Read more at EV Fleet World or at Hybrid Cars. Toyota has released Japanese ads for the Prius C using music from popular video games. The ads, which borrow scores from Dragon Quest III and Monster Hunter, also use the tagline "Fun to drive, again." While some may find the link between driving and role-playing video games tenuous, fans of green cars and gaming know the various feedback displays in cars like the Prius C can make eking out every last mpg possible feel like a game, with the car's Eco Score essentially the equivalent of a game's high score. Plus even if the reference is lost on a viewer, the ads do instill a sense of adventure. See and hear for yourself in the videos below, and read more at Kotaku. The electric vehicle charger (EVC) market is predicted to grow by significantly worldwide by 2020, according to a new report. It shows a predicted compound annual growth rate of 28.28 percent between 2013 and 2020. Level 2 charging station sales will expand from $0.2 billion in 2014 to $3.5 billion by 2020, while growing from $67 million in 2013 to about $947 million in 2020 in the US alone. For 2014, residential EVC sales currently make up 70 percent of those in the US, while sales between home and non-residential level 2 chargers is expected to be about equally divided by 2020. Read more in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.