Toyota Europe Officially Presents 2012 Yaris, Sales Start this Summer

We first brought you news on the European version of third generation Yaris hatchback on Wednesday, but today, Toyota followed up with initial details on its VW Polo and Ford Fiesta rival. Toyota’s newcomer in the European supermini segment will manufactured at the Japanese firm’s Valenciennes factory in France with sales to start before the end of this summer.
At launch, the 2012 Yaris will be offered with three different engines, two of which run on gasoline, the 1.0-litre VVT-i and 1.33-litre dual VVT-I, and the other, a 1.4-litre D-4D, on diesel. A hybrid version based on the 2011 Geneva Motor Show concept car has been confirmed for next year with more details to be released at a later date.
The Japanese automaker said the new Yaris will offer affordable multimedia connectivity with the introduction of Toyota Touch & Go featuring a rather large 6.1-inch display with touch screen technology. According to the company, it will be standard equipment on 95 per cent of sales.
Commenting on the introduction of the new Yaris, Didier Leroy, President and CEO Toyota Motor Europe, said: “[The] New Yaris represents Toyota’s strongest offer yet in the important supermini segment. With its new levels of ingenuity, efficiency and quality, we are confident it can build upon Yaris’s previous success and help Toyota rejuvenate its presence in Europe and move towards one million annual sales in the region in the medium term.”

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Toyota to Build Hybrid Drivetrains Outside of Japan in Four Years

Toyota has chosen to focus most of its resources on its hybrid models, and more specifically on the Prius “family” and Lexus lineup, in order to recover from this year’s earthquake and the subsequent, and quite substantial, decrease in global sales due to parts shortages.

Until now, Toyota manufactured all components of hybrid drivetrains, such as battery packs, electric motors and inverters only at its Japanese plants. The recent disaster has shown the vulnerability of the decision to put all of your eggs in one basket.

Therefore, the company has decided to change its policy and manufacture them not only in Japan but also in overseas factories.

“Right now, hybrid component production is too biased toward Japan”, Toyota’s executive vice president in charge of global purchasing, Shinichi Sasaki, told Automotive News. “We have to devise a tactic roughly within a year –that means this may be implemented in three or four years’ time.”

According to Mr. Sasaki, Toyota’s revised plan calls for the production of Toyota and Lexus hybrid components at global production centers that will then ship the parts to assembly plants worldwide. He added that the most likely choices would be Toyota’s North American, Southeast Asia and China plants.

 

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Toyota Prices New 2012 Prius Plug-in from $32,760 and Prius V Minivan from $27,160

Toyota has released the full rundown on the pricing of the upcoming 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the five-passenger Prius V minivan.

The first-ever Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which combines the firm’s Hybrid Synergy Drive with a small lithium-ion battery to extend the electric-only driving range, starts at $32,000 not including a $760 processing and handling (DPH) fee that raises the price to $32,760, while the better equipped Advance trim model will have an MSRP of $39,525 or $40,285 with DPH.

The Japanese company said it expects both Prius Plug-in trim levels to qualify for a federal tax credit of approximately $2,500.

The plug-in model features a new Lithium-ion battery that offers an extended electric-only driving range of up to 15 miles at a maximum speed of 62 mile-per-hour. The battery can be fully charged in 2.5-3 hours using a standard 120V outlet or 1.5 hours using 240V.

According to Toyota estimates, the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid will deliver approximately 87 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) and 49 MPG when operating in hybrid mode.

The Prius Plug-in Hybrid will begin reaching showrooms in spring of 2012.

The third member of the Prius family is the Prius V minivan, which carries a base MRSP $26,400, or $27,140 if you include the DPH fee. According to the Japanese automaker, the Prius V will return estimated EPA fuel economy ratings of 44 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined.

The hybrid minivan is scheduled to arrive in Toyota dealerships across the country in late October.

 



 

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Color Me Bronze: Toyota's FT-86 II Concept Hits the Frankfurt Stage with a New Color

Toyota seems ready to knock down the Chevrolet Camaro's record number of motorshow appearances before it finally entered production with its FT-86 sports coupe.

More than three years after Toyota and Subaru announced plans to co-develop a rear-wheel drive coupe, and almost two years after Toyota first showed a concept of the FT-86, the Japanese company is still displaying prototypes of its long-awaited sports car.

At this week's Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, Toyota brought along the most recent interpretation of the FT-86 II Concept that we first saw in Geneva this past March with a small twist: instead of a black finish, the study features a bronze/orange hue along with colored brake calipers, and that's about it.

Check out the pictures right after the jump.

 

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