Toyota readies blitz of new cars

Automaker's move to introduce 16 models over next 30 months puts pressure on Big 3.

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
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Robert Galbraith / Bloomberg News

TRAVERSE CITY -- Toyota Motor Corp. will launch 16 new models in the United States over the next 30 months, including two gas-electric hybrids, as part of an aggressive push to boost its sales and output in North America.

The automaker also expects to be selling 600,000 hybrid vehicles a year in the U.S. market early in the next decade, Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said at an annual industry conference here.

That hybrid sales target amounts to nearly one-third of Toyota's U.S. sales of 2.1 million vehicles last year.

Toyota's plan to expand its U.S. lineup will heighten pressure on Detroit's automakers, who already trail Japan's leading manufacturers in the pace of rolling out new models. They also lag in production of hybrids, a fast-growing market niche.

But Toyota's relentless expansion plans are cutting into its profits. After increasing research and investment spending this year, the Japanese automaker reported a second consecutive drop in quarterly income.

Toyota is adding new models for the U.S. market across its Toyota, youth-oriented Scion and premium Lexus brands, Press said. The new vehicles include the Toyota FJ Cruiser, a small sport utility vehicle, two replacements for the Echo compact and hybrid versions of the Camry sedan and Lexus GS luxury car.

It now sells 30 models across the Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands in the United States.

Toyota already is the industry hybrid sales leader, with three gas-electric vehicles on the market: the Toyota Prius, and the Highlander and Lexus RX400h sport utility vehicles.

It plans to broaden its hybrid offerings and has 10 additional models under development.

Toyota's new president, Katsuaki Watanabe, has set a goal of selling 1 million hybrids per year globally early in the next decade.

"At our current rate, that's about 600,000 hybrids in the United States," Press said. "To achieve that, we will have to look at offering hybrid power systems in virtually all of our vehicles, including trucks."

Although it was once considered a niche technology, Press said there is growing evidence the public is embracing hybrid vehicles. Last month, for example, sales of the Prius trailed the popular Chrysler 300 passenger car by just 905 units.

"The demand is there," Press said in an interview on the sidelines of the Management Briefing Seminars in this resort town.

"Gas prices are going to continue to push demand. As the manufacturers increase the availability of products, the share is going to increase."

Toyota has months-long order backlogs for its hybrid vehicles, but some analysts say its forecasts may be optimistic. Hybrid vehicles now account for just 1 percent of U.S. light vehicle sales.

"How do you convince the meat of this market to pay for something that'll cost thousands of dollars more?" said Lindsay Brooke, an auto analyst at forecasting firm CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills.

Although rising gas prices have boosted demand for hybrids, "they would have to go over $3.50 a gallon to really start to force people to make profound changes in their car purchases," Brooke said.

Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker after General Motors Corp., has increased its research and investment budgets for the Japanese fiscal year starting April 1. For the first quarter that ended June 30, Toyota said net income dropped 7 percent to $2.4 billion.

"We are spending a lot of money now so that Toyota can reach our next level" of global growth, Toyota Senior Managing Director Takeshi Suzuki said at a news conference Wednesday in Tokyo.

The automaker's financial results also were hurt by the yen's rise against the dollar, which reduces the value of revenues generated in North America.

In July, Toyota posted the best sales month of its 48-year history in the United States. But the automaker's monthly market share slipped to 12 percent from 12.9 percent in July 2004 as Detroit's automakers generated huge sales with employee discount pricing. Sales of domestic brands surged 22 percent in July.

"The only reason our share declined is because their market grew," said Press. "We don't share the same customers."

Toyota has captured 12.8 percent of the U.S. market so far this year, compared with 8.7 percent five years ago. Its sales are up 10 percent this year.

Toyota and its top Japanese rivals, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., have made steady inroads in the U.S. market, bolstered by reputations for solid reliability and a brisk rollout of new products.

Although Detroit's automakers are accelerating product launches to sharpen their competitiveness, GM and Ford Motor Co. lag the model-renewal rate of the leading Japanese automakers, according to a recent report from Deutsche Bank. This year, GM and Ford are selling new models, replacements or restyled vehicles that represent 18 percent of their annual U.S. sales, compared to 22 percent for Japan's Big Three.

In 2006, GM and Ford will have new products accounting for 19 percent of sales, compared with the Japanese renewal rate of 23 percent.

Detroit News Staff Writer Christine Tierney and Bloomberg News contributed to this story. You can reach Ed Garsten at (313)223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...A01-269787.htm

These 16 models better not be two-box derivatives. No word on a Supra replacement? What a bunch of *****.

 

They're going for the jugular. Wanna bet they still don't release anything even remotely fast and fun to drive, save for another FWD Celica, spineless MR2 or gutless AWD Matrix. Toyota went from cool to uber boring in less than ten years. BRING BACK THE SUPRA!

 

You might get your wish soon...

I've seen a few spy photos of what appears to be the new Supra. Rumor is it might even come out with Lexus badges, not Toyota!

I'll try and google it for ya...

 

Forget the hybrids... let's see that Supra !

 

Whoa whoa whoa. Don't be so harsh on the Celica and MR2. The Matrix I don't give a **** about. I've hated that car ever since it was thought up, by a packet of mustard.

The Celica was killed by Pep Boys and Autozone, and the MR-S was too expensive for what it was offering, and the problem can easily be pointed at the engine choice. Now if they had a Gen III 3S-GTE MR-S for sale at the price they're offering now, then I'd totally buy one.

 

It would be nice if Toyota brought the Caldina over here, its a 240 hp, awd vehicle that is leaps and bounds better than the Matrix.

Here's to holding out hope for a RWD, 275-300 hp coupe or 180-200 hp MR in a couple of years...

 

Yes what everyone else is saying...please Toyota make a sports car again!

 

Toyota will make the Supra. They HAVE to make the Supra. Remember when Subaru brought over the WRX? What did Mitsubishi have to do? Bring the REAL EVO (not a OZ edition Lancer @#&!*%^&$). Subaru strikes back with the STi. Mitsubishi plays hardball and delivers the EVO RS and MR.

Learning from this, Toyota knows Nissan is bringing back the "YOU KNOW WHAT". If Toyota doesn't bring the Supra back, IMO the only car to get with the GT-R, consider their performance division flushed down the toilet (bye-bye TRD). Besides, I find it quite a coincidence that some of those Supras in Super GT have V8s. Just the same, some of the Super GT Z33 are sporting V6TTs (not confirmed but DEFINITELY the plausable engine choice for the next GT-R). Can you think of a better way to test new engines?

 

I don't think Toyota gives a **** whether they want to bring back the Supra. That's probably the last thing on their mind. It'll probably be their finishing blow once they overtake GM as the number one automaker in the world. Toyota's smart by staying put on the whole Supra thing and focusing all its chi on just selling quality cars. Look at Mitsubishi. The EVO is an awesome car, but the rest of the lineup blows like a 50 Cent album. Toyota could be in their shoes, but they're not because they're putting their money where it belongs. Plus, they don't have to worry about a thousand other of its industries. Deversification of product is so Enron.

Oh yeah, those JGTC Z33s, if you really want to call them that (the only thing that remains is probably the original frame) run on the VQ30DETT, which I believe is a race-only motor. If only Nissan would respond to my harassing emails and put a twin-turbo VK45DE motor in the GT-R.

One more thing. Those Supras have gone through different engine configurations, ranging from a high-strung 3S-GTE motor to the current V8s. Weird.

 

16 new models...and they're killing the celica and the MR2 this year

 

If the Skyline comes over to the USDM wearing an Infiniti badge then my guess is that Toyota will follow suit and (if it ever does actually happen) make sure the next Supra sports a Lexus badge here in America.

 

Isn't Toyota Japan going to split up their car lineup into Toyota and Lexus? Will Toyota ever have another production V12? Will I ever cut my fingernails?

 

Supra sales would be like 0.0000001% of Toyota's revenue. They could care less. Sports cars are for brand recognition and getting people to dealerships. Toyota doesn't have a problem with either of those.

 

Man bring in the 5th gen 3SGTE or even the 4th gen 3SGTE ST205 Celica GT4. The 5th Gen 3SGTE is in the new Caldina every else other than here. Caldina basically can be considered a matrix redesigned.

I swapped in a 4th gen 3SGTE into my old 94 celica and I think that is one of the greatest engines.

 

Know what the fastest thing in Toyota's (not Lexus') lineup will be next year?

The RAV-4.

I **** you not.

 

I knew there was something wrong with this statement.

http://toysport.com/webpages/NewsInfo/Info/FYI3SGTE.htm

According to this statement, the number of generations apparently stop at three. Yeah I know it's weird. The 4th-gen, if my memory serves, is the 200-hp VVT-i 3SGE found in cars such as the SXE-10 Altezza. Also, you might have confused the two different types of 3rd Gen. 3SGTEs. One belongs in the Celica GT-4 (ST205) and the other in the ST215/246 Caldina. The difference is the external modifications to the turbocharger assembly. I think Toysport better explains it than I. I'm just parroting the information. :o

It's strange but nice to see after all these years, Toyota still has a home for its little iron block monster.

http://toyota.jp/caldina/dynamism/engin/index.html

 

So my Japanese is pretty bad. Does anybody know what kind of power the Caldina puts down?

 

not even teh corolla XRS!!!????

are they still making that? I saw commercials for liek a month, then it all just stopped.

 

Since it's a 3rd. Gen 3SGTE, I would assume the GT-FOUR model grade puts out 260 PS. IMO, it's an ugly car, but we have much worse Stateside.

 

My mistake, I meant 3rd and 4th gen isntead of 4th and 5th. I swapped the 3rd gen into my celica. I also did a GT4 front end conversion and a Curren Rear Tail Light conversion.

I really loved the GT4 and was trying to figure out ways to import and legalize it, which http://www.evolutionimports.com/ now has for sale for $19,000. Check out there website on used cars Page 6.

Don't ever do business with toysport, they are really shady.

 

LOL!!! So true.

I feel ya on that. It's a good possibility they would just stick to what works. But at the same time, I don't think Toyota would let their performance division, TRD, go by the waste side. They've got some serious race history. Also in the performance marketing, almost all of the auto makers now have a touted "street demon". Pontiac with the GTO, Dodge with the Viper, Chevy-Corvette, Ford-Mustang, Honda-S2000, Nissan-350Z+Skyline, Mitsu-EVO, Subaru-WRX STi, etc. etc. The popularity of performance cars is definitely back in full force. It wouldn't be smart for Toyota to not take advantage of this. After all, even the current Supra (the last gens) could shut a lot of todays cars up.

 

Even today, the JZA80, even the older MA70 and before that, still get my full attention. In terms of making a lasting impression, Toyota has succeeded where everyone else has failed.

I'd rather side with a car company like Toyota who is committed to building a quality lineup while making no apologies than a car company that can build an awesome sports car, but neglects the cars that everyone else will buy. Know your target consumers: people.

Jabberwock, I'd b careful in importing an ST205. Those cars are notoriously heavy, and may not be worth the $19,000. Besides, they look like a melting popsicle. :p

 

Yeah...well, already got my RX8 and a swapped celica, which weighs 2675lbs on a truck scale. I don't plan on getting a ST205 anymore.

Although I was pretty sure that a ST205 only weighs from 1200KG - 1380kg equivalent to 2645.547lbs - 3042.379lbs dending on which version you have.

I know a caldina weighs a lot.

Toyota's BEAM engine is a awesome engine too.