Toyota Aurion News

1. What is the biggest challenge facing the Australian motor industry today?"I think it is the challenge of meeting the growth expectation of locally-produced cars for the domestic market, gaining an increasing share against the rising imports."Almost 70 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia are now imported and it is growing. But we need a strong domestic base ffor our locally-produced cars."2. Toyota builds the Camry here and will add the Aurion later in the year, but isn't your company also Australia's largest importer? "Yes we are, by far. But we are simply taking advantage of the rules to ensure we maintain number one in Australia in the face of vigorous competition from all directions. 'We also want to maintain growth in locally produced cars."3. In that case, how important is the upcoming V6 Aurion and 2006 overall for Toyota?"It is easily the most significant car yet for Toyota in this country. And the biggest year in our history."Not only are we introducing a range of new imports this year, including the Yaris sedan we have just displayed, but for the first time our company will introduce two locally-produced cars in the one year. They are the four-cylinder Camry, of course, and the new Aurion 4. Are these cars the ones that will see Toyota accepted as a genuine Australian carmaker alongside Holden and Ford? "I think it's a huge step towards that ultimate goal of being recognised as a legitimate supplier of large cars in Australia. The Aurion supplies us with the opporunity."It is credibility in the Australian market. We are not yet recoginised because of our inability to supply a large six, where the Commodore and Falcon are icons in this market."5. How do you see sales going in 2006?"We don't see the market reaching one million this year. It's possible, but we're not predicting it this year.Toyota's position is to maintain an overall market share of around 21 per cent. So if you do the numbers, we believe we will sell slightly more vehicles this year than last year, at around 205,000 to 210,000. The plan for our factory at Altona in Melbourne will be to go to 140,000 cars. We're presently around 110,000.This is the first step towards the new target with Camry and Aurion. We haven't finalised the numbers, but by the end of the first full year with the two cars - including domestic sales and exports - we plan to be at 140,000."6. What about staying number one in Australia and future growth, including exports?"The plan is to move the Australian vehicle sales number for Toyota towards 250,000 vehicles for the next three or four years. If that delivers number one that's fine, but it is an outcome provided consumers accept our products."If we are skilful enough to reach that target then it will deliver number one, and for some time."The export number is a minimum of 80,000 in the first year of the new models. But we don't have a breakdown on the split between Camry and Aurion yet."

A pre-production version of the new large car to replace the Avalon was unveiled yesterday at the Melbourne Motor Show.However, a Toyota spokesman said Queensland dealers did not want the Aurion at the Brisbane Motor Show because they were concerned it would divert attention from selling current models.Toyota Australia boss John Conomos confirmed there were no plans to bring the Aurion to Queensland.Brisbane Motor Show spokesman Chris Nixon said Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Hyundai and some others treated the event as a "selling show" rather than a display occasion. "That sounds plausible that dealers would not want attention distracted by the new car," he said.Aurion, which means "tomorrow" in Greek, will have a 3.5-litre V6 engine with 190 kilowatts of power, but other specifications and price will not be known until close to its release date towards the end of the year.The world debut of the front-wheel-drive Aurion followed substantial involvement in the design process by Toyota Style Australia members Nick Hogios, Paul Beranger and Max Gillard.The Melbourne Motor Show yesterday unveiled several new models on the Australian market, including the return after 18 years of the Fiat brand with the Punto hatchback. In an acknowledgment of record fuel prices, Holden, BMW, Jaguar, Fiat, VW, SsangYong and Alfa Romeo announced new diesel-powered passenger cars.

Lead singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte was in fine form as the covers came off the new Aussie big V6, belting out the song in black hot pants and fishnet stockings as hundreds of motoring journalists and industry players looked on. The launch of the car was webcast live by Toyota and was watched with interest by executives at head office in Japan. Toyota's new car, designed by Australian designer Nick Hogios, is expected to start at around $35,000 when sales kick off late this year.

Aurion was chosen for the all-new V6 family car that is being unwrapped this morning at the press preview for the Melbourne International Motor Show. It will be set straight up against the Holden and Ford family favourites when sales begin at the back end of 2006. The Aurion is based on an all-new Camry, which is missing from the Melbourne Exhibition Centre despite being previewed in the USA, but has a very different and more upmarket look. There will also be an Aurion Sportivo. Toyota has tried before to challenge Australia's showroom leaders, first with the Lexcen - a poor-quality re-badged Commodore in the 1980s - and then with the outdated and unimpressive Avalon. It has always believed that it must have a credible and successful big-six contender if it is to win the heartland support it craves so desperately. Toyota Australia has tried everything else to become accepted as more than just a Japanese brand, even buying the major sponsorship rights to the AFL and signing on as vehicle supplier for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. This time it believes it has the right approach, as the Aurion was designed by an Aussie - 31-year-old Nick Hogios of Toyota Style Australia - and has been developed locally for Australian roads and owners. It took a big push to convince Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan that the Australian team had the people and skills to do the job, which including sending Hogios to work in Nagoya and regular visits by Paul Beranger, the veteran head of Toyota Style Australia, to oversee the project. Beranger produced the X-Runner pick-up and Sportivo Coupe which starred at earlier Melbourne Motor Shows. The unveiling this morning will be one of the biggest in Toyota's local history, including a webcast to dealerships around the country and a major news stunt. But nothing is bigger than the Aurion story, which includes direct support from Japan, which plans to make the car a major export earner. "It's all part of a global strategy," Beranger says. The plan is to sell the Aurion only as a V6, with the Camry only available with a four-cylinder engine, using a premium position closer to the Holden Berlina and Ford Fairmont. Toyota says it is far to early to talk about price or models or even the mechanical specification, but everything points to a $35,000 starter price with a full list of standard equipment. The production target is also being kept quiet, but Toyota Australia's factory at Altona has recently been upgraded to produce as many as 140,000 cars a year, split between the Camry and Aurion. The Camry is still likely to dominate the production line, with Aurion numbers growing slowly. The newcomer will also be built in China, Taiwan and Thailand with the Hogios looks, but wearing a premium Camry badge. And what about the Aurion name? Toyota admits that it is a made-up name, but says it wanted to avoid anything too obviously ocker Aussie - Kakadu or kangaroo - or a continuation of Avalon. Cressida, the name of a premium Toyota import in the 1980s, was also rejected because of its history. "Aurion means 'tomorrow' in ancient Greek," Beranger says. "The name also has overtones of Australia and Aurora - the Latin word for 'the dawn'.