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Toyota Mobility Foundation sets up shop in Da Nang

You never know where the next cleaner mobility effort is going to take place. Toyota is looking around the world for places to make getting around a less dirty affair and the latest experiment is going to take place in Da Nang, Vietnam. Aside from the new location, though, there's nothing particularly special about the Da Nang project. The first two basic ideas are to set up a community bus service in the governmental, educational and commercial districts and a park-and-ride program. The project is the second from the Toyota Mobility Foundation, which says that these the enhancements to Da Nang's transportation system further TMF's, "philosophy of combining Toyota's knowledge with the expertise of partners to enable more people around the globe to move safely, efficiently and enjoyably." TMF will spend 2.9 million dollars over three years to set up the project in Da Nang. The first TMF project launched in Bangkok earlier this year. Toyota Mobility Foundation Launches Program in Da Nang, Vietnam The Foundation's Second Program Will Address Emerging Transportation Issues in Rapidly Growing Mid-sized City Tokyo, Japan June 9, 2015-Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) today announced its second program, which will launch in Da Nang, Vietnam to address emerging transportation issues in the rapidly growing mid-size city. The announcement follows news earlier in April, 2015 from TMF regarding the launch of its first pilot program in Bangkok, Thailand. Both programs reflect the Foundation's philosophy of combining Toyota's knowledge with the expertise of partners to enable more people around the globe to move safely, efficiently and enjoyably. "Toyota Mobility Foundation develops innovative solutions that address a full range of mobility challenges facing communities around the globe by sharing our knowledge," said Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of TMF and President of Toyota Motor Corporation. "As Da Nang adapts to its rapid population and economic growth, we-together with our partners including Da Nang city government-aims to build a more joyful mobile society." TMF will partner with the local government in Da Nang to develop a sustainable transportation system that meets projected population growth estimates and mobility needs. In the early stages of motorization, Da Nang is considered an entrance to the Indochina East-West Economic Corridor, which links Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

Toyota expands airbag recall to 2.27M vehicles worldwide

Was your Toyota inspected under the company's recall campaign for faulty airbag inflators last year? You might have another trip ahead to have it repaired again. The automotive giant says that it found "the involved serial numbers provided by the supplier were incomplete, and did not include all of the potentially involved inflators," according to its official announcement. That means more replacements are needed.
Toyota's April 2013 inflator recall covered the Corolla, Matrix and Tundra from the 2003 and 2004 model years, the Sequoia from 2002 to 2004 and the Lexus SC 430 from 2002 to 2004. At the time, the company said it would need to inspect about 510,000 vehicles in the US but only expected to replace around 170,000 inflators.
However, the latest announcement increases that figure to about 766,300 vehicles in the US. Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight told Autoblog that the new amount is the combination of owners who need to have their vehicle looked at again and those who didn't come in for the initial recall. The company learned about the problem when Takata, the supplier, provided it with an improved list of the faulty part's serial numbers. According to The Detroit News, the latest recall affects about 2.27 million vehicles from them worldwide. Knight said owners would receive notification of the problem around the end of the month but repairs would come in phases because the automaker doesn't have all of the necessary parts at the moment.

Local production could improve Toyota Prius' fortunes in China

The Toyota Prius is the world's most popular hybrid vehicle, but it may take domestic production capabilities for the model to achieve a high level of popularity in China. Japan-based Toyota is aiming to produce an increasing percentage of Prius components in China in order to bring down its price there, Bloomberg News reports. Eventually, the goal is to make all Priuses sold in China in that country in order to avoid the steep 25-percent import tariff. As it is, Toyota sold just 1,400 Prius vehicles in China last year, compared to about 234,000 in the US and 315,000 worldwide. Hindering sales is the fact that the Prius costs about as much as an entry-level Audi in China, where Volkswagen is the country's best-selling automaker. Toyota has been selling the Prius in China for almost a decade but may soon find local sources for the batteries and other hybrid parts for the Prius and Camry Hybrid, Bloomberg says, citing comment from Hiroji Onishi, Toyota's China chief, at the Beijing Auto Show. Part of the problem is that the Chinese government provides less than $500 worth of subsidies for each hybrid sold, compared to about $9,600 for an electric vehicle. While that subsidy may rise as China municipalities take on the country's growing pollution problems, there's lingering concern over spurring sales of a car that's made by competing Japan. Toyota starting making some of its Prius vehicles in China in 2005 but halted production on the second-generation version of the hybrid four years later.