2005 Toyota Tacoma X-runner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota Prius sales could come up short in 2013

A Toyota executive has said that the automaker's hybrid Prius model may not reach its 2013 goal of selling 250,000 units in the US marketplace. Bill Fay, group vice president for Toyota's US sales, told Reuters, "The 240,000 to 250,000 range is kind of where we're settling our sights for the Prius family."
The first-generation Prius, a five-passenger model, was introduced to the States in 2001 (its arrival made it the second mass-produced hybrid, after the two-seat Honda Insight). The second-generation model arrived in 2004, followed by the current third-generation design that arrived for the 2010 model year. The automaker has subsequently added the Prius V, a hatchback wagon (shown above) and the Prius C, a subcompact hatchback. As of March, 2013, cumulative worldwide sales of the Prius had reached 3.67 million units.
Last year, Toyota sold 236,659 Prius models in the US. However, sales of the model have fallen 5.1 percent in the first six months of 2013. In response, the automaker has boosted its marketing for the model, and the promotions are expected to continue through at least July.

Toyota calling for independent, industry-wide Takata airbag testing

The initiative is still very new, and there's no set timeframe for this third-party testing to begin. With Takata's airbag inflator recall expanding nationwide soon, the scope of this safety campaign is only growing, and is set to affect millions of additional vehicles. Toyota thinks that it can help, though. The Japanese automaker has announced an initiative to get all of the affected companies to band together to fund independent, third-party testing of the faulty components. The goal of this work is to "ensure the inflators that require replacement are accurately identified and promptly fixed," according to Toyota. All of the data would be shared among the participating automakers to better understand the causes of these problems, which still aren't entirely known, and come up with the best way to repair the affected vehicles. "By combining our collective efforts behind a coordinated, comprehensive testing program, we believe we can achieve greater results. Together we will be better equipped to address this issue more rapidly for all customers," said Simon Nagata, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, in the company's release. According to Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight speaking to Autoblog, the initiative is still very new, and there's no set timeframe for this third-party testing to begin. The automaker's first step is simply getting the word out that it's looking for partners. She said Toyota "has spoken with colleagues in the industry" about setting up the independent evaluations and specifically said the company has already reached out to Honda and Ford about possibly working together on this. Honda also released a statement calling for similar third party testing, and when reached for comment about Toyota's proposal, Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker responded: "Ford takes the safety of our customers very seriously. We plan to join the proposed industry wide effort to investigate and develop solutions to address this critical issue. We look forward to discussing next steps with NHTSA and other automakers." Scroll down to read Toyota and Honda's full announcements of these safety initiative.

Toyota ready to design more heart-racing Prius

Long praised for its fuel economy and reliability, the Toyota Prius has been no stranger to less-than-flattering remarks about its styling and sense of excitement. In fact, the model is a regular movie punchline. For evidence, see Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys or, more recently, Ice Cube in Ride Along. Apparently, Toyota President Akido Toyoda is getting the message and is pushing for what's been translated as a more "heart-racing" design for both the Prius and the Camry, the Canadian website Driving says. The Camry and Prius accounted for about a third of Toyota's US sales last year. With the Camry as the best-selling US model for each of the last dozen years, Toyota US head designer Kevin Hunter noted at the Detroit Auto Show last week that the Japanese automaker is looking for a "more emotional" design for the boxy sedan. The Prius redesign may have more constraints, as aerodynamics have to be factored in to ensure top-line fuel economy for the world's best-selling hybrid. Toyota used the Detroit show to show off the FT-1, a concept that many consider a preview of the new Supra. How this "Future Toyota 1" will affect the Prius and Camry redesigns, whenever they appear, remains in question but we like where things are headed.