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Toyota's 'green bond' an industry first, quickly rises to $1.75 billion

Toyota is greasing the skids for more green car purchases with the announcement of a $1.75-billion bond designed to finance the purchase of high-efficiency Toyota and Lexus models. The Asset-Backed Green Bond is a first for the automotive industry and is making a lot of money available to buy or lease the following vehicles: any of the four Prius variants, Camry Hybrid, Avalon Hybrid, RAV4 EV, Lexus CT 200h and Lexus ES 300h. Originally, the bond was set at $1.25 billion, but Justin Leach, manager of public relations for Toyota Financial Services (TFS), told AutoblogGreen that demand was high and it was quickly oversubscribed. TFS has been looking at more ways to diversify its portfolio after a Diversity & Inclusion Bond that was announced in early 2013 and, with the new Green Bond, TFS is offering something for the "number of investors out there who are looking for investment opportunities in green." The way the money from the bond is used, basically, is that TFS takes the $1.75 billion and uses it to finance the purchase or lease of the nine vehicles listed above. As of right now, all the eligible vehicles are plug-in or hybrids, but the rules simply say that the cars in the program have to meet certain "powertrain, fuel efficiency and emissions" criteria. That means: Minimum EPA estimated MPG (or MPG equivalent for alternative fuel vehicles) of 35 city / 35 highway California Low-Emission Vehicle II (LEV II) certification of super ultra-low emission vehicles (SULEVs) or higher, which would include partial zero emissions vehicles (PZEVs) and zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). TFS raises plenty of billions in other ways for the rest of the lineup, and got into asset backed securities in 2010, Leach said. Given the success of this first Green Bond, Leach said he expects TFS to keep this idea in its arsenal. "This one was so well received, I would be surprised if we didn't see it again," he said. "If anyone was going to do it, it should be Toyota, right?" Toyota Financial Services (TFS) Issues Auto Industry's First-Ever Asset-Backed Green Bond Bond Proceeds to Fund Consumer Loans and Leases for Toyota's Leading Portfolio of Green Vehicles TORRANCE, Calif., (March 24, 2014) – Toyota Financial Services (TFS) issued the auto industry's first-ever Asset-Backed Green Bond in the amount of $1.75 billion.

Lexus IS sedan refreshed and restyled in Beijing

The current IS with its polarizing sheetmetal has been for sale since 2013, and Lexus has now updated the styling, turning it up a notch. The new IS has a mouth that is perhaps even more gaping than the outgoing model's front end. The intakes have been enlarged, making the front bumper more aggressive even on the IS200t base model. Along with a reshaped spindle grille, the headlights have been redesigned and now feature L-shaped daytime running lights. The checkmark-shaped "light guides" underneath them have also been made more pronounced. Lexus says they have reached for a design that would make the car look like it's in constant motion even when sitting still – perhaps a design cliche, but often attempted, and the character line on the sides has been enhanced for that reason. Did they succeed? You be the judge. Inside, the central information display has grown from 7 inches to 10.3, along with getting higher resolution. Otherwise, the interior remains much as it was. There are small touches here and there, including a redesigned gauge cluster, but mostly it's all about new color choices. On the engine front, the lineup continues to rely on three engine choices. The IS200t carries on as the downsized base four-cylinder option with a twin-scroll turbo charger and cycle-shifting Variable Valve Timing-intelligent Wide – still good for 241 horsepower. The IS300 gets a 255-horsepower V6 and the top-rung IS350 offers up 306 ponies from its 3.5-liter V6. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New Lexus IS Debuts at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show BEIJING (April 25, 2016) -- A daring new styling direction, exciting performance and innovative technology defined the completely new Lexus IS that was introduced in 2013. Since then, sales of the luxury brand's entry-level sedan have surpassed expectations, outselling the previous-generation model, which was very popular in its own right. At the Beijing Auto Show today, Lexus has taken the covers off the new IS, armed with a fresh new look and a number of important changes. Because the original styling of the current IS has proved so popular, Lexus has kept the essence of car's exterior appearance intact; however, the entire front fascia of the new model has undergone a transformation, highlighted by new headlamps, large air intakes in the front bumper and an evolution of Lexus' spindle grille.

Lexus planning a hydrogen fuel-cell LS by 2017

Toyota's Fuel Cell System will certainly migrate to other vehicles in the carmaker's lineup, but Australian car site Motoring reports that one of the models at the head of the queue is the Lexus LS. According to its sources, the executive barge powered by hydrogen will be released by 2017 and take the top spot in the range, rolling in above the LS Hybrid. We're told that Toyota engineers will find a way to slide two hydrogen tanks into its bodywork with the same general setup as on the Mirai – one under the rear seats and another under the rear parcel shelf. The 150-kW fuel cell stack will be placed under the front seats. Motoring says the resulting sedan and its 220-kW electric motor would come in "at around 2,100 kg," which is 4,620 pounds; that's a ginormous 539 pounds less than the listed curb weight of the current LS Hybrid, and 387 pounds more than the standard LS. Assuming all goes as planned, it would have a range of roughly 238 miles, a few dozens less than the Mirai's range of about 300 miles. It would look slightly different, too, the front end getting larger intakes to cool the power unit. It wouldn't surprise us if Lexus does have a hydrogen LS planned – it would be a statement car, and the company likes making statements, even if few heed them; it has stuck with its LS 600h for the past seven years, yet of the 7,539 LS models sold through the end of November this year, only 61 of them were hybrids. The timing would be intriguing, however; by the time the LS hybrid came out, Lexus had already worked over its filet-and-potatoes models. And if the hydrogen version is going to come in above the $120,440 hybrid, well, that will be a statement indeed.