Toyota HiLux 2008 News

A Federal Court case has been launched against unscrupulous importers of bogus brake pads as Toyota tries to locate the dodgy parts.

Toyota HiLux tops the list of Australia’s most stolen cars

Toyota issues its seventh recall in six months, doubles up on one from last year.

Toyota has issued a global safety recall on 6.58 million vehicles, with the impact hitting the popular Hilux ute, RAV4 SUV and Yaris small car.Statements issued by Toyota Australia today said that 179,000 of the Hiluxes built between April 2004 and December 2009 have been recalled for a defect that could see a cable between the steering wheel and  column sustain damage when the wheel is turned, activating the airbag warning light and preventing the driver's airbag from deployingA separate safety recall on 118,600 of the Yaris hatches and sedans built between June 2005 and May 2010 is to fix a defective seat track spring on the driver's and front passenger's seats. The statement says the spring can break and become stuck, giving the false impression that the seat is properly locked in place.In the meantime, the Yaris can still be driven but if there is any difficulty in locking the seats in position, owners should contact a dealer to arrange an inspection. The repairs will take about 1.5 hours for the five-door hatch and sedan, and about three hours for the three-door hatch in which the front passenger seat will also have to be removed.The number of RAV4s being recalled is not yet confirmed. Toyota says neither of the problems with the Hilux and Yaris have resulted in any accidents or injuries in Australia. Vehicle owners are being contacted by Toyota, but can get more information on the brand's campaign helpline on 1800 643 242. 

Aussie car fans and nostalgia buffs will tell you that local motoring reached its peak in the 1970s.

The official showroom total for 2008 is 1,012,164 vehicles, a result achieved despite a major slide during the final quarter thanks to the global economic meltdown. Toyota continued its reign as Australia's favourite brand but the Holden Commodore survived the challenge from Brand T's compact Corolla and working-class HiLux ute for another year at the top of the tree. The full-year results were confirmed this morning by VFacts, which also confirmed a December total of 76,510 vehicles, down by 11.3 per cent on the same month in 2007. Despite the late slide, and gloomy predictions of a major fall to around 850,000 sales in the coming year, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries put a positive spin on the results. "I think it's a good result, in fact an outstanding result," says the chief executive of the FCAI, Andrew McKellar. Toyota, Mazda, Subaru and Volkswagen were the only top-10 brands to improve their full-year sales in 2008, as a number of high fliers including Nissan, Honda and Hyundai went backwards. The full-year total was only 37,818 vehicles, or 3.6 per cent, behind the all-time record set in 2007, but the passenger car market fell by 6.3 per cent. Once again it was large cars which suffered most, with the Commodore-Falcon class falling 14.4 per cent on the 2007 result. TOP 10 BRANDS 2008 Official VFacts figures (Previous year in brackets) 1. Toyota, 238,983 (236,647) +.98% 2. Holden, 130,338 (146,680) -11.14% 3. Ford, 104,715 (108,071) -3.1% 4. Mazda, 79,826 (77,734) +2.69% 5. Mitsubishi, 60,692 (65,397) -7.19% 6. Nissan, 59,214 (60,015) -1.33% 7. Honda, 52,571 (60,529) -13.15% 8. Hyundai, 45,409 (50,007) -9.19% 9. Subaru, 38,492 (38,445) +0.12% 10. Volkswagen, 29,875 (27,400) +9.03% By contrast, the United States market fared much worse in terms of percentages, with most of the major brands taking a significant sales hit, the main exception being BMW's Mini brand, which recorded a small rise. Audi -9.3% BMW  -40.2% Chevrolet -25.8% Chrysler -59.8% Dodge  -51.9% Ford  -33% Honda   -34% HUMMER -59.3% Jeep  -48.5% Kia  -39.2% Lexus -32.4% Mazda   -27.9% Mercedes-Benz -32.1% Mini +0.1%     Mitsubishi -22.6% Nissan -30% Pontiac -45.5% Porsche  -25.5% Saab  -57%     Saturn  -30.9% Subaru -7.7%                                                    Toyota  -37.5% Volkswagen -14.4% Volvo -47%

After just 888 sales and a range of setbacks, including a safety recall for an engine failure, Toyota Australia has killed its TRD division.The decision to close the go-faster shop has cost an estimated $20 million in research-and-development, dealer facilities and a production tie-up with Prodrive in Melbourne although the 17 staff at TRD will be moved to other jobs within Toyota Australia.The final TRD Aurion and HiLux models will be produced before the end of March and stocks are likely to be cleared early in 2009.Toyota denies any embarrassment over the TRD failure, its first since ending Daihatsu sales in Australia, but admits it was not making money and had little chance of a black-ink bottom line."It was costing us more than it was returning. Our forecast was that we would have had to continue to invest for a period of time, a number of years not a number of months," admits Peter McGregor, who was responsible for TRD."We're talking about an operational change to the total Toyota business. We've had to make some tough decisions."McGregor says the current economic situation has also put pressure on TRD, which is not making its projected sales results."It was working reasonably well. HiLux was selling 50 to 60 units a month, and we were doing about 34 Aurions, although that is slightly below what we originally thought we would do."The numbers are far below the results achieved by Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performance Vehicles, and TRD critics are already claiming a success in the brand's failure.They say go-faster Toyotas were never going to succeed in Australia, despite the company's investment in supercharged V6 engines for the Aurion and HiLux.The TRD operation was planned as a way of winning new buyers to Toyota showrooms, as well as converting younger customers, by adding some spice to cars which are known for their vanilla flavour."Vanilla can be quite nice if you get the right brand. And we have the luxury brand in Lexus," says Mike Breen of Toyota Australia.The TRD operation will be closed after less than two years and the decision means there is no need to continue development of a third TRD model."There definitely won't be a third model. Although there were a number under consideration," says McGregor.All TRD vehicles will continue to be covered by Toyota's warranty.The failure of TRD has been offset this week by an upcoming record for Toyota Australia.It has hit an export milestone, shipping more than 100,000 vehicles overseas in a single year.The record car was part of a shipment of 2100 vehicles which left Melbourne on Christmas Eve.Toyota Australia is now forecasting total exports of 101,563 for 2008, an industry record, up from 96,688 in 2007.Its production at Altona is now overwhelmingly focussed on exports, with local sales of the Camry and Aurion only totalling around 40,000 cars."This is Australia's biggest automotive export program, generating$1.8 billion a year in export revenue," says Dave Buttner, Toyota Australia's senior executive director of sales and marketing.

Sales of cars and trucks were down 2315, or 2.7 per cent, last month compared with July last year, according to VFACTS figures released yesterday by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.In total 83,976 cars, trucks and buses were sold last month, with Toyota still No 1 on the sales chart.But new vehicles sales are still strong for the year at 626,671 — up 16,004 on last year's record.FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar blamed fuel prices, interest rates and the wider economy for the buyer slowdown last month.Large sedans and luxury cars took a beating, while interest in the small and medium segments slipped as well.Sales of luxury cars slumped 33 per cent in July from June, while large sedans under $70,000 were down 9.5 per cent last month and more than 15 per cent year-to-date.Many luxury importers reported brisk business in June as buyers tried to get vehicles ahead of the LCT increase.European importers like BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz expect the softening in sales to continue.Mr McKellar said the proposed tax hike has had a devastating impact on new car sales.Mr McKellar predicted that, if the downturn in luxury sales continued, the Government would not receive the extra revenues it had projected — and there was a risk it would cost jobs.Sales in most of the passenger car and sports utility vehicle (SUV) segments were down last month except for light cars (up 1.0 per cent), SUV medium (up 8.1 per cent) and SUV large (up 7.4 per cent).One bright spot was light commercial vehicles, which increased 6.3 per cent (897 vehicles) compared with the previous July.Toyota remained the top-selling make last month with 24.4 per cent of the market, followed by Holden on 13.3 per cent and Ford 11.3 per cent.Year-to-date Toyota leads the race with 147,961 vehicles sold, followed by Holden on 78,271 and Ford 63,933.Solid marketing and competitive deals on its HiLux, Corolla and Yaris has put Toyota at the forefront. 

Car sales were at record levels for the first half of the year, but that isn't expected to last.As Ford and GM Holden struggle with their toughest challenges in more than 25 years, there is no sign of any overall slump in new-car showrooms.The Commodore and Falcon are doing it tough, but small-car sales are booming, compact four-wheel drives are going well and there is a growing trend towards work-and-play pickups by Tuppies - or Tradie Urban Professionals.The Tuppie trend is as obvious as the showroom total for the Toyota HiLux, Australia's No.2 seller in the first six months of the year. It even beat the Commodore, though the baby Corolla did best, to record its first half-year term as overall No.1.Toyota continues to power ahead and has experienced the best results in its history, helping to drive a string of records for the overall motor industry."We're up 9.4 per cent for the year. But we always want to do better and while we're running well ahead we're happy," the head of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia, Dave Buttner, says.The overall figures at the half-time break in this year's showroom battle include record sales figures for June, a record for the year so far and a record performance for a financial year of 1,068,301.But things do not look as bright for the second half of the year, even though all industry analysts are forecasting a full-year total of about 1,060,000."There will be a lot of competitive pressures. Prices are likely to stay where they are," Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Andrew McKellar says."The June figures need to be seen in a broader context. We have come from a situation where the market was growing at about twice the rate of the national economy ... we have seen growth rates fall from 8.9 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year."This is much more in line with growth in the general economy and a much more sustainable position."So there are plenty of winners, but there are losers, too. Nissan and Honda trail last year's half-yearly totals. They have held their places in the top-10 sales chart but clearly need new models to compete with their rivals, as Honda's impressive effort in June - when it cracked 6000 sales for the first time in a month thanks to the new Accord and Accord Euro - prove.But what can we see in the results, beyond the inevitable stuff from Toyota?New vehicles are still up to 30 per cent less expensive to buy today than they were 15 years ago and strong competition, the growth of turbodiesels, improved safety and equipment levels are driving new buyer inquiry.June had a record 106,541 sales, up 1444, or 1.4 per cent, on the same month last year, and a record for any month in Australian motor-vehicle sales history.Toyota is now more than 60,000 ahead of its nearest rival Holden, with a tally of 127,440 sales.Last month it became the first company in Australia to sell more than 25,000 vehicles in a month when it recorded 25,600 sales.As it did in 2007, the Corolla is storming ahead, outselling the fleet favourite, the Holden Commodore, but it is the HiLux that has surprised pundits.In April the HiLux knocked off the Holden Commodore as the country's best-selling vehicle and end-of-financial-year deals helped push its sales to 4530 last month, with a yearly tally of 22,132.Toyota's success has a lot to do with its market clout and penetration in just about all vehicle segments.It has cars from the economical Yaris to the V8 turbodiesel LandCruiser off-roader and its split strategy of the Camry four-cylinder and Aurion V6 seems to be paying off, even if rivals refer to the Aurion as the Camry V6.Other Toyota strengths are its strong marketing, and knowing its buyers.But with rising fuel prices, tightening credit and interest-rate issues, it is not alone in predicting some softening in the run to December.But Toyota is buoyed by a strong order bank for many of its cars, including the HiLux and Corolla, and analysts say the company's pricepoints and reputation will hold up well against outside issues facing the car industry.The Corolla is the company's hottest property. It became Australia's best-selling car in the first half of the year, the first time Corolla, or any Toyota, has topped the country's new-vehicle sales chart at the half-way point of a year.Australian motorists bought 24,415 Corollas in the first six months of this year - an increase of more than 7.3 per cent on the same period last year.Corolla was the best-selling vehicle last month, with 5023 sales, followed by the HiLux, with 4530.The Holden Commodore was third last month, posting 4274 sales for a six-month total of 23,323 cars - 1092 fewer than Corolla.Yaris, 2770, Aurion, 2552, and Camry, 2261, were among the top 10 sellers last month. Prado, 1749, led the SUV market.Toyota's market share so far this year is 23.5 per cent, a slight gain of 1.3 per cent on the same period last year.Holden's overall share is down 2.1 per cent, which will be worrying the bean-counters.Despite having a strong sedan, ute and long-wheelbase line-up, the company's South Korean strategy has some holes in it.Sales of the Viva sedan and wagon are down more than 14 per cent, and the Barina is struggling.Only the Captiva and Epica seem to be working out.The Captiva has found 5633 buyers this year and even the lukewarm Epica has lifted numbers to 1332, up from 1096 for the same time last year.By contrast Ford's Euro small cars like the Focus and Fiesta have performed well, achieving sales of 8561 and 3866 respectively.Even its new mid-sizer, the Mondeo, has snared 2518, with Ford underestimatingd demand for the turbodiesel model.The late arrival of the new FG Falcon meant that June results of 3483 were about what the company expected.Ford's Broadmeadows factory is ramping up production of the G Series sedans after starting with the base XT model and dealers are reporting strong interest and growing orders for the G Series cars.Luxury-car sales, too, with the impending rise in the luxury-car tax, shot up last month.Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all report strong June sales in a pull-forward of sales before the new tax comes into effect.Mercedes-Benz sold 2054 vehicles, Audi 907 and BMW 2258.The arrival of the new Jaguar XF bolstered Jaguar's June result, with 124 cars sold; and even Land Rover shifted 491 vehicles. REPORT CARDSmall cars GOODCompact 4x4s GOODPick-ups GOODSedans POOR How the makes and models compareTOP 10 MAKES (June)1 Toyota 25,6242 Holden 11,9683 Ford 10,2864 Mazda 75245 Mitsubishi 83366 Nissan 53527 Honda 62178 Hyundai 54479 Subaru 411610 Volkswagen 3305 TOP 10 MAKES (YTD)1 Toyota 127,4402 Holden 67,1233 Ford 54,4694 Mazda 42,4935 Mitsubishi 35,1676 Nissan 30,8007 Honda 30,1688 Hyundai 24,4179 Subaru 20,80610 Volkswagen 16,407 TOP 10 MODELS (June)1 Toyota Corolla 50232 Toyota HiLux 45303 Holden Commodore 42744 Ford Falcon 34825 Mazda3 32866 Toyota Yaris 27707 Mitsubishi Lancer 26678 Honda Civic 26449 Toyota Aurion 255210 Toyota Camry 2261 TOP 10 MODELS (YTD)1 Toyota Corolla 24,4152 Holden Commodore 23,3233 Toyota HiLux 22,1324 Mazda3 17,4585 Ford Falcon 14,7816 Toyota Yaris 13,7047 Toyota Camry 11,7718 Toyota Aurion 11,3879 Honda Civic 10,89710 Mitsubishi Lancer 10,498 who's hotSUZUKIJune was the 19th straight month of cumulative increases for Suzuki, which has cemented a place as one of Australia's fastest-growing brands.A total of 2419 Suzukis were sold last month, making it the best month in the company's history with a 2.2 per cent gain over the previous high-water mark in June last year.Another record result confirms Suzuki is now being considered against the historical volume players in the Australian market, Suzuki Australia general manager Tony Devers says.Like so many others, Suzuki is cashing in on successful new models, including the SX4, though the baby Swift - a former CARSguide Car of the Year - is still the bedrock for the brand. It has also claimed a 21 per cent increase for Grand Vitara, and the tiny Jimny four-wheel drive, which has been relaunched in 2008, is up 35 per cent.Suzuki sold 12,140 vehicles in the first half of the year, an 11.3 per cent increase on last year."With rising petrol prices having a noticeable effect on customer choices, Suzuki is perfectly positioned to offer a range of vehicles offering great fuel economy, superb build quality and terrific value for money," Devers says. MAZDAMazda is well on track for an 80,000-plus year. Better than its most ambitious target.Last month it sold 7524 vehicles, up 8.5 per cent on the same time last year.The Mazda2's tally of 1540 is a record for the nameplate and even the ageing Mazda3 continues to perform well, selling 3284 last month.The Mazda3's year-to-date sales of 17,458 makes it the third best- selling car - not vehicle - in Australia behind the Corolla and Commodore. SUBARUAll-wheel drive continues to be Subaru's trump card.It achieved a record of 4116 vehicles last month, with an overall lift in sales of 6.4 per cent for the year so far.The new-generation Forester was a star performer, with 1668 sold, an increase of 13.2 per cent.Impreza continued its strong start with 1031 sales, up 16.0 per cent. The refreshed Tribeca also performed well, with 161 sales, up 47.5 per cent.Liberty and Outback sales of 788 and 468 respectively contributed to the impressive result. who's notSSANGYONGThis brand is struggling, with sales down 25 per cent this year despite a revamping of its model line-up.A lack of cohesive marketing, low dealer numbers and quirky styling continues to dog the brand. Only 920 have found homes so far this year. SAABWhat can we say?With only two models in the line-up, the 9-3 and 9-5, Saab needs an injection of product right away.It's coming, in the form of a new four-wheel drive and small model but they are some way off.With sales of only 806 so far this year, it makes you wonder why GM Premium Brands bothers with the Swede. RENAULTEven tough sales have improved 2.2 per cent overall this year, the French carmaker's typically arrogant attitude to the Asia-Pacific market is working against it.The new Laguna and Clio sports model give it some hope, but only if the French executives get out of their ivory towers in Paris and come have a look at our market for a better understanding of what it needs to survive and prosper. PEUGEOTThe model changeover from the 307 to the 308 may have upset Peugeot's strong run, but sales are off 17 per cent this year.The 207 is a strong card and once the 308 becomes more widely known for its quality and driving experience we suspect things will pick up.The 407 is in desperate need of some strong marketing. NISSANLook beyond the nameplate and there are some strong individual performers, like the the X-Trail and Navara.But the Tiida still mystifies people, a Pulsar by any other name really. The miniscule Micra is picking up some well-earned praise for its price and packaging, so there is some hope.The Dualis has fallen short of the mark, though, and essentially Nissan still has to climb out from its tag as a four-wheel-drive brand if it wants to improve.Sales have slipped 4.3 per cent this year. LEXUSTreading water a bit with sales up only 0.3 per cent this year, the six-model range is strong on quality but short on driver involvement. The IS and GS are perhaps the exceptions. They are competent, but not engaging cars, and the volume RX series is due for replacement soon. It cannot come soon enough. CITROENAgain, the French! Some perky little performers in the C3 turbodiesel and C4, but it seems Aussie buyers prefer Japanese.Citroen sales are off 13.5 per cent on the same period last year.The Grand Picasso is the only interesting one to watch. ALFA ROMEONothing wrong with the product but others do it better and more aggressively.Alfa importer Ateco Automotive has sold 717 Alfa Romeos this year, down 25 per cent on the same period last year.The arrival of the sexy Mi.To could spur things on for the brand. 

It is the first time Toyota has achieved the quinella by having the two best-selling vehicles in the country in one month.Toyota's HiLux two and four-wheel-drive ute range sold 3814 units last month, just beating its Corolla stablemate, which sold 3722 units, and the Adelaide-built Holden Commodore, which finished the month with 3324 sales.New vehicle sales remain ahead of 2007's record pace, but the large car market continues to suffer in favour of small cars and sports utility vehicles.The automotive industry's VFACTS sales figures, released recently, showed passenger car sales slipped slightly behind the 2007 year-to-date tally, while SUV sales continued to improve across the board.Light, small and medium car sales continued to grow compared to 2007, but the larger end of the passenger car market continued to decline.Toyota's Aurion has also come close to beating the superseded BF Ford Falcon, falling just 32 sales short - but Ford's new FG Falcon goes on sale this month. TOP 10 BRANDSToyota....20,838Holden...10,187Ford......8246Mazda.....6749Mitsubishi....5007Nissan.....4935Honda.....4289Hyundai....3683Subaru....3158Volkswagen..2440