Toyota Unveils New Future Yaris in Japan

Just the Facts:

•Japan's new Vitz previews America's next Yaris.

•Styling is all new, with a big push on fuel economy.

•A hybrid model is also in the works, likely in 2012.


TOKYO — Unveiled Wednesday in Tokyo is the latest from Toyota, the new Vitz. This car, in essence, is expected to come to the U.S. as the next Yaris.

Nissan, Honda. Subaru and Mazda have all refreshed their subcompact offerings in Japan of late, so Toyota is now ready to up the ante with this first full redesign of the Vitz/Yaris since 2005.

Although the stakes are high, Toyota has essentially played it safe with this third-generation Vitz.

Yes, the styling is more expressive and, it seems, strongly Eurocentric (with more than a nod, perhaps, toward France's Renault). But underneath, this is a safe evolution of a well-established product. The platform is essentially a carryover, even though the wheelbase is up almost 2 inches and overall length stretches 4 inches to a new 153 inches.

The payoff is extra cabin space, especially in the back, but bigger news in Japan is the car's fuel economy. It may be academic for America, but on home turf, Toyota has reshuffled the existing 1.3-/1.5-liter engine, putting a lot of emphasis on the 1.3.

One trick version of that, with engine stop/start, returns a class-leading 62.3 mpg in Japan's 10.15-mode fuel cycle. The 1.5 that comes to the U.S. continues on with 107 horsepower and stars in the Vitz RS, the raciest of the new Vitz family at launch.

This RS spinoff runs with massaged grille and bumper treatment and gets 16-inch alloys and sport seats. An Activematic CVT option, with steering-wheel paddle shifters, is also on the RS menu, as an alternative to a stock five-speed manual shifter.

Inside, Toyota has gone for a simple, functional dashboard design with a long, thin metal panel running along the middle, plus a conventional main gauge cluster that's easy to get to know, if not terribly inspiring to look at. The makeover also brings all-new seats.

A hybrid model is also in the works but, we hear, won't appear until well into 2012.

Inside Line says: Toyota goes for a new look with the redesigned Vitz/Yaris, which may or may not lure new buyers into the fold. Whatever you think of the styling, this is a major new player for Toyota at home that's on a mission to sell 10,000 units a month, and counting. — Peter Nunn, Correspondent

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently operates 14 manufacturing plants, including one under construction. There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sold more than 2.05 million vehicles in 2009. Toyota directly employs more than 35,000 in North America and its investment here is currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totals more than $25 billion. Toyota currently produces 12 vehicles in North America, including the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Sienna, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and the Lexus RX 350.

See also:  http://www.toyoland.com/toyota/plants.html

Toyota Adjusts Yaris Future

Below is a future car article by the automotive experts at Motor Trend Magazine.
Hybrid Version of Next-Gen Small Car Planned


By Paul Horrell

Toyota's subcompact cars plans have been knocked sideways by the recession. The company was planning a new generation version of its Toyota Yaris that would feature the innovative engineering of the tiny iQ, but it will now instead rebody the current Yaris (pictured) for 2012.

However, in search of ultra-economy, Toyota will make a hybrid version -- a full hybrid, as opposed to the mild-hybrid system in the Honda Insight. Toyota plans to release hybrids across its range. In Europe it is launching an Auris -- the European Corolla-equivalent hatchback -- with Hybrid Synergy Drive. Toyota executive Takuo Matsui told MT "I strongly hope [we will make a Yaris-size hybrid] and I am pushing R&D for it."

Honda will shortly install its IMA hybrid system from the Insight into the Fit.

The iQ is still expected to come to the U.S. as a Scion. It's a tiny, 118-inch-long, 3+1-seater hatchback that manages to be so space efficient by utilizing several all-new packaging solutions around the engine, plus a redesigned differential, firewall, steering system, and air conditioner.

The original plan was to design a range of subcompacts longer than the iQ but with the same packaging solutions and front platform, yielding a very spacious five-seat car, and an additional seven-seater a little bigger than a Honda Fit. But now, the need to save money on retooling Yaris plants means the current car will get a straightforward rebody.

This strengthens the case for a hybrid Yaris. Packaging the hybrid system under the iQ’s snub hood would have been near impossible, whereas in the current platform it will be easier. Even so, making a hybrid small car cheap enough to be worthwhile, both for the manufacturers and consumers, is an enormous challenge.

Meanwhile, as previously reported here, the iQ will form the basis of Toyota’s pure-electric car for America in 2012. The EV will share most of its exterior panels with the gas version.

Toyota Planning Turbocharging, Direct Injection Across Lineup

The recent switch to “down-sizing” technologies like turbocharging and direct-injection have allowed automakers like Chevy, Ford and Hyundai to leap past Toyota in the fuel economy race in recent years. During that time Toyota’s focus has been on hybridizing its lineup of vehicles, a move that does allow for more significant fuel economy gains, but which is expensive; a cost that is then passed on to the consumer. Toyota’s hybrid plans also tend to mean a less impressive performance numbers.


Steering the industry over the past decade, Toyota now appears to be succumbing to the pressure of its rivals and will begin to roll out extensive use of turbocharging and direct injection in its vehicles. While not a massive leap, it will allow for significant short term fuel economy gains, with these technologies proving just how much potential is left in the internal combustion engine.

In an interview with Automotive News Toyota’s R&D boss Takeshi Uchiyamada commented that we’ll see this engine technology in everything from the Corolla to Camry, while the company will improve its variable valve timing and begin using start/stop systems to further improve technology.

The move should also help Toyota save significantly on R&D costs. With the automaker already boasting excellent fuel economy numbers, just switching to direct-injection will put Toyota back on top in the fuel economy race, without the need to design and build an entirely new generation of engines.

Moving to turbochargers and direct-injection also holds promise for performance enthusiasts. And with Toyota’s long history of turbocharged performance, perhaps a new generation of sports cars like the FR-S/FT-86 could make use of turbo DI engines in order to achieve impressive fuel economy and fun.

[Source: Automotive News via Motor Trend]

Toyota Confirms iQ Will Get Electric Version

Toyota‘s iQ microcar will get a fully electric version in 2011, the Japanese automaker has confirmed. The iQ will come as part of a plan to launch 11 hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012, including a hybrid version of the Yaris hatchback, a plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid and a Prius-based minivan.


In a statement released by the firm, Toyota stated that “improving the efficiency of its internal combustion engines, which account for the majority of sales, while raising performance, reducing costs and expanding the range available”. The company is also investigating new battery technologies that will bring big advances in performance that will be needed for electric cars to succeed in the mass market”.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Toyota Mulling All-Electric Supercar

By Peter Lyon


Mercedes and Audi may have drawn first blood in the electric-powered supercar wars with their SLS AMG E-Cell and e-tron prototypes respectively, but Toyota is reportedly set to take the fight to the Germans with an all-electric super sports car program of its own -- possibly with help from its new partner, Tesla.

An insider close to Toyota tells us that plans have been put in motion to develop a supercar that would rival the E-Cell and e-tron, and even the Citroen Survolt concept first seen at this year's Geneva show. The car is expected to produce more than 500 horsepower and would sprint from 0 to 60 mph in around 4 seconds. Like the E-Cell, the Toyota is expected to route power through four electric motors, one at each wheel. It will also incorporate a switch that allows drivers to select between driving programs such as comfort, sport and super sport, thus permitting drivers to regulate battery use.

It's expected to debut around 2015, and we are first to reveal how one artist in Japan sees the as-yet-unnamed vehicle as it might look attacking the Nurburgring in Germany. The large grille and air intakes beside the headlights are viewed as critical to provide sufficient cooling for the electric motors. The vehicle would reportedly borrow undisclosed know-how from Tesla and utilize aerodynamic expertise gained from the Lexus LFA project.

The fact that company CEO Akio Toyoda just signed a deal to invest some $50 million in electric sports car maker Tesla adds significant weight to the story. Toyoda is said to have dined recently with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and he reportedly took the Tesla Roadster for a spin during the evening. We were told he left suitably impressed, so much so that he's said to have given the green light to the feasibility study into the production of the all-electric sports car. In addition, Tesla has announced that it will deliver two as yet unidentified EV prototypes to Toyota by the end of July, which are believed to be EV versions of the RAV4 and Lexus RX.

Toyota, which has become the hybrid trendsetter largely thanks to the success of the Prius, now boasts the world's largest range of hybrid vehicles and is fully aware of the stricter emissions regulations coming into play worldwide. Not surprisingly, it sees EVs as one way of improving its carbon footprint while helping to repair the company's damaged public image in the wake of the unintended acceleration fiasco.


As Toyota continues to channel a huge portion of its R&D budget into hybrids, improving battery technology and electric motor output has naturally led the company to focus on EVs as well. Its Prius PHEV, which features a lithium-ion battery pack and some 15-mile range on electric power alone follows the company’s initial trials in EV mobility with the FT-HV concept at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and the FT-HV II’s debut at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.

Our insider also tells us Toyota engineers, who raced two works Lexus LFAs recently in the Nurburgring 24-hour race, were more than impressed by the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid's ability to lead the race for more than 22 hours using a fresh new take on hybrid technology. The GT3 RH is fitted with a hybrid system that stores energy generated by the brakes in a large flywheel, and then redeploys the power to the front wheels. One Toyota engineer we spoke to hinted that such a regenerative system could become the norm in future race cars and open doors for road cars as well.

Toyota's Five Year Future Car Plan

Below is a future car article by the automotive experts at Motor Trend Magazine.
By Peter Lyon


As the U.S. government continues its investigation into the biggest recall scandal in Toyota's history, the embattled automaker's bosses clearly have plenty to worry about at present. But the world's No. 1 auto manufacturer is still as focused as ever on the business of making cars and has some fascinating sheetmetal in the pipeline to prove it. Just one look at what's coming in the next five years will cement that fact.


Unusually exciting concepts for Toyota unveiled at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon -- the FT-86 G Sports Concept and the GRMN Sports Hybrid concept boasting a 400-horsepower V-6 and electric motor combination -- garnered headlines around the world, with company CEO Akio Toyoda front and center promoting them on stage. But it's the cars they didn't show at the salon that will launch Toyota into the decade.

As we've reported, Lexus is planning a next-generation version of its aging GS sedan which is expected to hit the market within two years. A GS F version is also reportedly in the pipeline. The question is what will power the super GS. We've recently learned that Toyota is strongly considering dropping a detuned version of the LFA's thumping 552-horsepower 4.8-liter V-10 under the hood of a GS F model. Targeting the likes of BMW's M5 head on, one source close to Lexus tells us that engineers will reduce the LFA's engine capacity to 4.6-liters and drop power to around 450 horsepower, with the aim of generating beefier bottom-end torque, making the new GS Japan's most powerful sedan ever. We had previously reported that the GS F would employ a version of the IS F's 5.0-liter V-8, but forces inside Toyota are apparently now pushing hard for the V-10. Word is that if the V-10 gets the green light, it may appear in at least one other vehicle to help spread the cost.

Another highlight of the GS F will be the incorporation of a Toyota-first rear-wheel 'torque split unit' that channels power between the right and left rear rubber in much the same way as Mitsubishi's AYC system or Honda's SH-AWD unit does, except that the Lexus system will only engage on the rears.

The other star attraction in the upcoming Lexus lineup will be the next generation SC 600h, which is due to be unveiled in mid-2014. While the current SC is scheduled to go out of production in July of this year, the new SC coupe will resurface powered by a 5.0-liter V-8 hybrid system that drives the rear wheels. Set to lock horns with the Mercedes SL, the new luxury two-door is also expected to employ the GS's rear-wheel torque split unit.


One Lexus we will see a lot sooner however, is the CT 200h five-door hatch, which will debut at the upcoming Geneva motor show and go on sale in January 2011. Dropped onto a Prius platform, and boasting paddle shifters, rear double wishbone suspension, its own unique voltage converter and upgraded power delivery, the CT's main claim to fame will be the implementation of Toyota's first mass-produced lithium-ion battery pack.

A few months after the CT 200h lands in showrooms, we can expect to see a Prius-based five-door wagon entering the market, it too fitted with a lithium-ion battery pack. But while it will be available in two body styles in Europe and Japan -- a wagon and a minivan -- the U.S. market will most likely just get the wagon.

While Toyota is in the process of introducing its first plug-in hybrids, starting with the Prius next year, we can expect to see the company's first rear-drive, plug-in hybrid sports coupe to go on sale by early 2015. Rumored to be based on the next generation Lexus IS platform, but launched through the Toyota sales network, this coupe is expected to do battle with hybrid sports cars from Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi. Yet another vehicle to be 'hybridified' will be the next generation RAV4, which is slated for an April 2012 debut.

Although some of these plans are subject to change, one thing is certain: all future Toyota models will all have proper floor mats and accelerator pedals, and the hybrids will all employ revised brake systems eliminating the alleged flat spot.