Toyota Aurion News

Toyota’s return to rock-crawling was sung in by a big country star, but the huge new LandCruiser and massive neon stage threatened to dwarf him in lights and sounds.Lee Kernahan crooning to a hip rural beat as the new 200 Series LandCruiser took the spotlight; all of it. The ‘Cruiser is even more of a bruiser than before, bulked up, with a greater kerb weight, 60mm longer, 30mm wider, 15mm higher…While a monocoque chassis will have to wait ‘til a ‘300 Series’, the new powertrains, chassis, suspension and components are rather futuristic.In a claimed ‘World first,’ Toyota has introduced its Crawl Control technology, which enables the driver to toggle between low speeds over the rocky offroad rubble like a fancy hill descent or assist. The suspension is also reworked and is hydraulically-assisted, while active rollbar technology works to keep the wheels planted on terra-firma.Toyota also took a plunge into the oil pool with two new V8 engine choices; a large 5.7-litre petrol V8 matched to a five-speed automatic, and a 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel with a six-speed auto.The latter boasts 190kW and an enormous 600Nm, and is a welcome return to the world of large-capacity diesels for the Japanese automaker (since the new emissions laws came in, Toyota has been without a big oil-burner).While we will see the 200 Series in showrooms by mid-November, the tricked-up tray backed TRD Hilux will be postponed until at least March.The supercharged dual-cab has been delayed due to a recent issue with the new supercharged TRD Aurion performance sedan. It is believed that the incident several weeks ago was caused by the combination of a wide open throttle and a slip of the gears (apparently, it was accidentally put into neutral from drive by a Toyota staffer).Toyota immediately halted the Hilux to investigate the problem, and it has backed up the production line.Next for TRD, once they pass this hurdle, may be a TRD Corolla in the spirit of the current ARC rally cars and possibly even a TRD 4X4 of some sort… See this car at the Australian International Motor Show  

Toyota's push into the performance car market has stalled following the withdrawal from sale of the company's new TRD Aurion.Sales of the Australian-built supercharged TRD were suspended after the engine failed in a dealer's test car.“The TRD engineers are fairly certain that it is a one-off incident but we have taken the step to stop sales for the moment while we inspect every engine that has been built for the car,” Toyota Motor Company Australia spokesman Mike Breen said.“The sales stoppage may last for about 10 days, just as long as it takes to inspect the 150 vehicles already built.”Toyota said it would not be taking any action on the six cars sold before the engine failure came to light.“At this stage we are not planning any action for the cars in the field but if owners are concerned we would encourage them to contact their dealer,” Mr Breen said.The high-performance TRD Aurion, a first effort from the new Toyota Racing Developments workshop, was launched last month after more than 18 months development. 

The supercharged V6 will not be sent overseas, even though Toyota Australia has a huge export business and there is foreign interest in the car.The Aurion was developed for Australia, and that means it will be held at home while the new TRD operation gets on its feet.It probably won't be exported until the second-generation TRD Aurion, sometime after 2010. It is not a priority as Toyota works to establish itself in a field dominated by performance cars from Ford and Holden.“Yes, we have had a lot of interest in the car. We've had inquiries from the Middle East, the US and New Zealand already,” Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Dave Buttner says.“But it's not the right time. We need to focus on the home market for the moment,” he says.Buttner says the whole TRD operation is a huge learning process for Toyota Australia, from the local design and engineering work to an assembly facility set up by Prodrive, the David Richards-owned company that also controls Ford Performance Vehicles and Ford Performance Racing, alongside Toyota's Camry-Aurion factory in Altona.He says the company isn't focused on overseas sales.“We have plenty of time. The current car is not homologated. Several things would need to be done. And we don't want to rush,” Buttner says.“It is far more important to get things right with this car, and get the TRD brand established in showrooms, before we worry about sending cars overseas.”Toyota Australia is building a solid reputation for its local work, engineering and design, and the sports-suspension package developed for the local Camry is now in use in the US. 

It cost $5 million to bring their first car, a 241kW supercharged Aurion TRD, to market.The most powerful front-wheel-drive production car in the world will be the first of many TRD special sports vehicles, followed by the Hi-Lux TRD late this year.Toyota product management divisional manager Peter McGregor said they had been working on the TRD project since 2002.“We wanted to gain market leadership back and asked for projects to strengthen the brand and increase sales and market share,” he said.In the absence of sports vehicles such as the Supra, Celica or MR2 the company recognised it was under-represented by buyers aged under 30, so a special vehicles operation was suggested.The first special vehicle operations meeting was held on February 27, 2003.“We knew this would not be big volume but would be about emotion and inspiration,” McGregor said.“The business case was built around the belief that TRD would generate more than just sales in the long term.”He said TRD would trade on its motorsport heritage through Formula One and rallying and recognition of the brand through the Gran Turismo PlayStation game.Toyota Australia sales and marketing senior executive director Dave Buttner described the move to launch TRD as “a leap of faith by the company."TRD Australia corporate manager Greg Gardner said the project began as a part-time activity that brought together “a band of closet enthusiasts”.The first task was to build a design team. Designer Lee Moran of Toyota Style Australia in Melbourne, was charged with the external design for the first TRD product.“There was no DNA for TRD so we had to start from scratch and create one,” said Moran who has worked for Ford on WRC car design.“We could steer the direction of the brand any way we wanted.“We chose F1 for our DNA inspiration.”The cars are developed by low-volume sports vehicle specialists Pro Drive with final assembly at Toyota's Altona plant.While TRD has announced the next vehicle will be a supercharged Hi-Lux, there are no firm plans yet for follow-up vehicles or whether it will continue with superchargers.Currently TRD is conducting a feasibility study for the third vehicle with an announcement expected early next year and the final production vehicle released within about two years.TRD Australia has appointed 41 dealers with 25 metropolitan dealers on line for the launch of the Aurion TRD and 16 regional dealers added for the Hi-Lux launch.The Aurion TRD release last week was aptly timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Toyota's first involvement in motorsport anywhere in the world.That event was the first Mobil Gas Around Australia Rally in 1957 when a Toyopet finished a credible 47th out of 86 entries.In Australia, Toyota has won four rally driver's championships and a manufacturer's trophy, 11 class victories at Bathurst, the inaugural 2-litre Touring Car title and the inaugural Bathurst 12-hour in 1991. 

The traditional six-cylinder family sedan is clawing its way back into the minds of car buyers.In doing so, family car buyers are helping the market continue its record run, according to the latest Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries sales figures.Last month, large-car sales rose 1945 vehicles, or 18.6 per cent, medium-car sales increased 1323, or 21.7 per cent, and compact crossover-wagon sales were up 1468, or 23.7 per cent.The Holden Commodore continues to be the most popular six, and 5134 sold last month. Ford sold 3186 Falcons, Toyota's Aurion managed 1925 and Mitsubishi sold 949 of its 380.Vfacts industry figures for July show that a record 86,291 cars, trucks and buses were sold, up 8729 vehicles, or 11.3 per cent, on the same month last year.Though most segments enjoyed reasonable growth, the strongest additional sales were in the family-oriented segments of large and medium cars and compact off-roaders.FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar says sales growth this year is more widely spread across segments than last year.“In 2006 the dynamics of the automotive market were dominated by small and light-car sales but this year sales action has been more broadly based,” he says.So far this year the market total of 610,667 vehicles is running 8.9 per cent ahead of the same period last year.The FCAI continues to forecast a record sales year of more than one million vehicles.McKellar says the continued sales buoyancy is pleasing, but he is cautious about the future because of economic challenges ahead.“The overall strength of the market in July is a tremendous result and we are on track for record annual sales, but we shouldn't take the strength of the motor-vehicle market for granted,” he says.“In particular, there is nothing in these sales figures that in any way supports the case for an interest-rate increase. There is no evidence of excess demand in the motor-vehicle market.“Supply has responded strongly to meet consumer demand, competition is intense and vehicle affordability is at record levels.”  Top 10 makes1 Toyota 19,0472 Holden 12,3433 Ford 90064 Mazda 64565 Mitsubishi 53086 Honda 56327 Nissan 45978 Hyundai 40059 Subaru 300710 Volkswagen 2383 Top 10 models 1 Holden Commodore 51342 Toyota Corolla 44603 Toyota HiLux 33004 Ford Falcon 31865 Mazda3 29096 Toyota Yaris 24497 Toyota Camry 19908 Toyota Aurion 19259 Hyundai Getz 172010 Mitsubishi Lancer 1676(Source: VFACTS) 

Toyota Australia is planning to build a hybrid version of its family-sized Camry or Aurion and have it on sale within four years.Toyota's head of sales and marketing, Dave Buttner says one will get the hybrid petrol-battery system.Toyota sells three imported hybrids, the Prius, based on the Corolla; a Lexus prestige sedan, the GS450h; and all-wheel-drive wagon, the RX400h, while a V8 luxury saloon, the LS600hl is due later this year.The home-grown hybrid would be built on the same lines as the Camry and Aurion at Toyota's Altona plant.“We want to be the first local manufacturer with green credentials. We want to be known as the company that was first to market,” Buttner says. “We want to be the leader on this issue. We have been looking at the Camry and Aurion for the hybrid and it's looking like the Aurion. It will go on sale in 2011 or 2012.”Toyota has been encouraged by the take-up rate of its hybrid Prius.“When launched, 3 per cent of sales went to private buyers, now it's 39 per cent,” Buttner says."Demand for our Lexus hybrids is double (our) expectations."  

It seems the Toyota's supercharged TRD Aurion is ready for the road, judging by this example spotted on the Hume Highway between Yass and Gundagai. While Toyota has issued a frontal photo of its high-performance Aurion, this is the first glimpse of its rear spoiler and hi-tech-looking peepholes for the twin exhausts. Check out also the big wheels - 19-inches by the look of them - and TRD-issue red calipers. As previously seen, the frontal treatment introduces a stronger-jawed look than the mainstream Aurion. The relatively restrained rear treatment looks like its keeping with TRD's philosophy for its go-fast Aurion, a position somewhere between Subaru's Sti division and the V8-powered glorious excess of HSV and FPV. “TRD stands for an optimal blend of performance, refinement, handling and Toyota's traditional quality, durability and reliability,” Toyota marketing chief David Buttner says. The TRD Aurion's door badges, bearing the Mercedes-like designation of 3500 SL, are no doubt calculated to add to its up-market image. With about 235kW and substantial torque lift from its 3.5-litre supercharged V6, Buttner compares the TRD's performance with refinement formula to the Alfa Romeo 159 or Volkswagen Golf R32. We'll be able to decide for ourselves when the TRD Aurion is launched next month; it is expected to be priced about $60,000. Aside from the usual local Holden SS and Ford XR suspects, there's not a surfeit of biggish sedans to offer comparable bang for these kind of bucks, with Mitsubishi having shelved plans to put the hot supercharged TMR version of its 380 into production. A front-wheel-drive and presumably cheaper version of Alfa Romeo's currently all-paw-only 159 V6 is part of the revision planned for the 2008 range. Volkswagen says the R36 version of its Passat V6 4Motion will arrive either by the end of 2008 or early 2009. With Toyota having long since expunged any remotely stirring models from its line-up (who'd have thought it possible to feel nostalgia for the Celica or the last MR2?) it will be amusing to see if buyers cotton-on to what seems the borderline bizarre idea of a high performance car with this maker's badge. Indeed, if it's only half-decent, the TMR would serve to provide the only spark of excitement in Toyota's utterly vanilla line-up. It's not as though a company whose perennial sales success seems as assured as the coming of the dawn actually needs such a gadget, which makes it all the more gratifying that they're having a bit of go. Still, Lexus money for an Aurion?  

The countdown has begun for Toyota's push into Ford and Holden's heartland. The new TRD contenders will be in showrooms within four months and the Aurion V6 and HiLux have been out for final verification work, as they are prepared for battle against SS Commodores and XR Falcons. More signs are also pointing to a V6 RAV4, that shares its 3.5-litre engine with the Aurion, becoming the third TRD model. The two confirmed starters are familiar to anyone who has been to a major motor show this year, but still the HiLux looked impressive when photographed last week. The TRD operation is now moving from test and development into full-scale assembly work being done in Melbourne by Prodrive, which also holds the rights to fast Ford road cars in Australia. The Aurion will be out first and, even though the HiLux is confirmed for November, Toyota Australia is still trying to keep full details secret. The car is likely to be available from September; the press preview drive is scheduled for late August. “The car is coming in the third quarter. At this stage, that's all I can say,” Toyota spokesman Mike Breen says. “It's all done. It's ready to go. You have basically seen it at the motor shows. It's supercharged V6 et cetera.” The first TRD Aurions have already been ordered, Queensland police taking 11 for highway patrol work. They will join a batch of regular Aurion Sportivo V6s already in police paint. The HiLux is more subdued than that unveiled at the Melbourne Motor Show in March, but still promises plenty of go with a similar supercharged engine. “The HiLux is in November,” Breen says. “It is undergoing final testing. It's the 4.0-litre petrol engine, supercharged.” Toyota has confirmed the TRD Aurion is quicker than expected, using a new Eaton twin-vortices supercharger packaged in Melbourne by Harrop Engineering. “Total engine performance is one of the key positives of the TRD Aurion package,” TRD Australia chief engineer Stephen Castles says. “The TVS unit has performed really well and definitely helped deliver the engine performance we need.” Work on the engine has also been done by the Orbital Engine Company in Perth, which focused on testing and component development.  

With the local car industry now at the halfway point in the 2007 sales race, it is easy to see who's winning and who's losing.Toyota is basking in the glory of not only being No.1, but also cementing its sales lead so convincingly that — barring a catastrophe — it will take out the sales crown this year.The Altona-based Japanese company is 40,404 vehicles clear of its nearest rival, Holden. It is also relishing the positive spin of the Corolla knocking off the Holden Commodore last month.But apart from Toyota, other players are also revelling in the good times.Of the importers, Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki and Peugeot managed strong June sales.Mazda sold 6932 cars, with the Mazda3 being the strongest seller on 3037.The company experienced the biggest market share gain of any importer.Its record half-yearly result is 20.3 per cent up on the same time last year, lifting market share from 6.7 per cent in 2006 to 7.5 per cent, a gain of 0.7 percentage points.Subaru's tally was 4085 for the month, with the Forester, Impreza and Liberty all breaking through 1000 sales.Suzuki, like many importers, was buoyed by keen end-of-financial year deals.It sold 2368 cars for the month, bringing its year-to-date tally to 10,910 vehicles, a 43 per cent lift over last year.Of the French, an ever-expanding Peugeot line-up continues to bolster sales, but Renault flops around due to a lack of new product.Peugeot sold 1016 vehicles last month, bringing its year-to-date run-rate to 4549, a 13 per cent lift over last year. The 307 continues to be Peugeot's best seller.By contrast, Renault has a year-to-date total of 1431 vehicles, 32 cars fewer than last year.Even Saab experienced some solid growth, albeit off a low base, as the 9-3 turbodiesel helped lift the marque's appeal.Saab sold 336 cars last month, its best month for 10 years, taking its year-to-date tally to 1148, a 170 per cent lift over last year.The X-Trail, Tiida and Navara continue to drive Nissan sales. The Japanese importer sold 5845 vehicles last month with 31,176 year-to-date, a 20 per cent lift over last year.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries monthly Vfacts figures show that most of the extra volume last month was generated by the light, small and medium car segments.A breakdown of large car sales shows that Holden sold 5588 Commodores last month, Ford 3206 Falcons, Toyota 2626 Aurions and Mitsubishi just 877 380 V6s.All three were eclipsed by the new four-cylinder Corolla, which secured 5890 sales.But a finer look at the figures shows that much of the Corolla's success was down to fleet purchases and pent-up demand for the new car, which spiked figures.But a sale is a sale. Holden's own figures point out that 29 per cent of VE Commodores are bought by private buyers, as opposed to 18.6 per cent for the VT Commodore.Apart from the Corolla, other small car stars were the Mitsubishi Lancer with 2143 sales, Holden Astra 1763 and Ford Focus 1550.Of the tiddlers, Toyota again ruled last month. The Yaris managed 2926 sales against 2486 for the Hyundai Getz, 1361 for the Kia Rio, 1351 for the Suzuki Swift and 1392 for the Honda Jazz.Despite the dominance of the light, small and medium segments, large cars were up 3.7 per cent in June and, in year-to-date terms, are running 5.1 per cent ahead of last year.However, Ford's overall market share has slipped 2 per cent and Holden's by almost 1 per cent, despite its Korean strategy, which was hoping to deliver an increased share.Mitsubishi is a bit stronger, experiencing a 0.6 per cent overall drop in share and, despite Toyota's increasing sales, its share has increased by only about 0.6 per cent.One of the more interesting results was for the Ford Fairlane.Ford sold 149 Fairlanes, bolstered by the news that the long-wheelbase sedan will be axed at the end of the year.Dealers are also reporting a slight pick-up in interest for the car from fleets.Overall, the year-to-date sales figure of 524,376 means that a record 1 million market is likely by December.   Top 10 makes  1 Toyota 24,5392 Holden 14,2563 Ford 10,3044 Mitsubishi 81945 Mazda 69326 Nissan 58457 Honda 57508 Hyundai 50239 Subaru 408510 Volkswagen 2848 Top 10 models1 Toyota Corolla 58902 Holden Commodore 55883 Toyota HiLux 42494 Ford Falcon 32065 Mazda3 30376 Toyota Yaris 29267 Toyota Camry 26458 Toyota Aurion 26269 Hyundai Getz 248610 Mitsubishi Lancer 2143 

It has been a turbulent past year for Australia's automotive industry but one that will go down as its best, at least in numbers of cars sold.A record one million new cars are tipped to be sold here in 2007, the first time the magic million will be eclipsed.It should be good news but such sales have only encouraged new brands to flood the market and pressure the local manufacturing base and established marques - cutting margins on new cars and largely to blame for forcing redundancies in Australian factories.Good news for new-car buyers, at least.By the end of this year, Czech and Indian-built cars will be sold in Australia, with Chinese-made cars soon to follow.Those cheap imports, along with more than 40 other imported brands competing for the Australian new-car dollar, have been held partly to blame for job losses at Holden, Mitsubishi and Ford.Holden cut more than 600 jobs at its Elizabeth plant in March, Ford announced it will stop production of its long-wheel-base cars, putting more pressure on its Geelong workforce which was cut by 600 late last year, while Mitsubishi's Tonsley Park factory is operating at just 50 cars a day with a “skeleton” staff.The job losses and flow-on job cuts in the automotive industry - more than 7500 in the past three years - also have been the result of consumers shying away from the Australian-built large sedans amid high petrol prices.However, domestic carmakers are sticking to their ambitions. Holden's new VE Commodore is proving to be a viable export option, as are Toyota's Australian-built Camry and Aurion.Up to 50,000 Commodores will end up in the U.S. as Pontiacs and long-wheel-base models will be exported to the Middle East, China and Korea.Mitsubishi - rebutting speculation that its SA plant will close - says it is tracking to its business plan, despite less than 900 of its 380-model sedans selling each month recently.Anthony Casey, general manager of national sales for Mitsubishi Australia, said the business, at the end of the first quarter of its fiscal year, looked like “a reasonable distance in front of where we had to be”.“We've stabilised (380-model sales) and, certainly from an imported product point of view, we were able to launch a number of new cars at the end of last year and they have been good for us,” Mr Casey said.“I think we've done a lot of work to consolidate our position. We did a lot of work last year in terms of right-sizing the business.”Mr Casey said Mitsubishi was gaining ground in the all-important eastern states in terms of sales and establishing a solid dealer network.Both Adelaide carmakers, Mitsubishi and Holden, have quietly revealed they have considered and studied bringing diesel powerplants to their range . . . even hybrid cars.Imported brands, particularly from Europe, are capitalising on a growing Australian passion for diesel, while improving hybrid technology has encouraged a growing green brigade of motorists here.GM Holden boss Denney Mooney said the economic climate had made it tough for the Adelaide carmaker to deliver a brand-new-model Commodore in the past financial year.The start-up costs for the VE Commodore and tough times for new-car trading sent GM Holden $146.5 million into the red in 2006.