Toyota HiLux 2010 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. 

However, the Holden Commodore was the top-selling model and now holds more than half the large-car market.  The 3787 new Commodores sold last month was nearly 10 per cent up on October last year while Australian-made large car rivals Ford Falcon (2258 sales) was more than 20 per cent down and Toyota Aurion (just 785 sales) a whopping 45 per cent down from October last year.Vfacts figures issued yesterday by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show that Holden Commodore is the only one of the three leading Australian-made cars to do better in year-to-date sales compared with last year.It meant Commodore accounted for just over half (51 per cent) of the large-car market, Holden's sales and marketing executive director John Elsworth said yesterday.  The company's Cruze currently is an imported model and again figured in the top-10 selling cars in Australia las month."Next year will be an exciting time for Holden," Mr Elsworth said. "Our Australian-made line-up will grow next year to include the Cruze sedan and hatchback, making Cruze the only Australian-built small car when its starts to roll off the production line along side Commodore in 2011."The FCAI said total October new-vehicle sales were 80,925, on par with the same month last year, a drop in passenger car sales offset by a rise in demand for SUVs. The year-to-date total of 861,645 new vehicles is 13 per cent up on the first 10 months last year and heading for a one-million tally for this calendar year.Toyota easily remains most popular brand, its 16,329 sales last month 60 per cent greater than any other brand, helped by HiLux and Corolla being second and third to Commodore."Toyota is now positioned to finish the year with more than 200,000 sales a level never achieved by any other car company in Australia," Toyota sales and marketing executive director David Buttner said.Top 10 selling models last month(with year-to-date in brackets)1. Holden Commodore 3787 (38,407)2. Toyota HiLux 3001 (33,128)3. Toyota Corolla 2803 (32,144)4. Mazda3 2556 (32,604)5. Ford Falcon 2258 (25,209)6. Hyundai i30 2165 (26,014)7. Holden Cruze 2135 (23,532)8. Toyota Camry 1924 (19,456)9. Mitsubishi Lancer 1752 (20,062)10. Hyundai Getz 1575 (18,388)Source: Vfacts, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries

Last month a record 89,218 new-vehicle sales were reported up a solid 18.3 per cent on the 74,441 of May last year. The previous best May was in 2008, before the global financial crisis, with 8,640.It means 422,446 new-vehicle sales this year nationally, a good 20 per cent growth (or 70,000 more sales) on the first five months of last year.  The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which released its Vfacts figures yesterday, now projects total sales of more than 1 million this calendar year.David Buttner, sales and marketing boss for Toyota which remains most popular brand in Australia predicts 1 million sales now will be easily passed in the financial year about to end.  In the 11 months of this financial year, the tally reads 904,551 vehicles. The final four weeks of ‘end of financial year sales’ have begun, and in each of the past three June totals, 100,000 has been achieved.Mr Buttner pointed out one in five new vehicles sold in Australia was now a Toyota.  FCAI head, Andrew McKellar said the SUV segment with 29 per cent growth on May last year and passenger cars, up 19 per cent, were leaders."But all segments increased during the month, demonstrating a genuine recovery in the marketplace," he said.  He said private buyers were returning in large numbers, taking over the momentum provided by business buyers this year.  Holden achieved its fifth consecutive month of growth, 24 per cent up on May last year.The Commodore with 3899 sales last month regained its top place while Toyota's HiLux, the April leader, was back to second place on 3665. It means Commodore remains in front in sales so far this year in its fight to be Australia's favourite car again in 2010.Falcon has third place for May and Mazda3 outsold rival Toyota Corolla while Holden Cruze imported at present but to be built in Adelaide from next year is in sixth place.  Mitsubishi is celebrating after its Lancer doubled sales of May last year to leap into the top-cars list.  Vehicles selling more than 1500 last month (with year-to-date in brackets):1. Holden Commodore 3899 (18,428)2. Toyota HiLux 3665 (17,287)3. Ford Falcon 3258 (13,349)4. Mazda3 2901 (16,155)5. Toyota Corolla 2796 (14,933)6. Holden Cruze 2484 (11,416)'7. Hyundai i30 2385 (13,588)8. Mitsubishi Lancer 2368 (10,129)9. Nissan Navara 1972 (8731)10. Toyota Camry 1966 (9088)11. Hyundai Getz 1957 (9629)12, Subaru Impreza 1597 (5253)13. Toyota Prado 1575 (7488)14. Mitsubishi Triton 1552 (6524)

Two HiLuxes were used to transport scientists on to Iceland’s now violently unstable Eyjafallajokull volcano just hours before it erupted and brought chaos to the skies across Europe.The four-wheel drives were used to transport monitoring gear to the summit of what once was a very dormant mountain.  The subsequent eruption has sent plumes of ash and rock more than 13,000m into the air.The legendary red pickup that the Top Gear television show used to drive across the Arctic to the magnetic North Pole was one of the cars used.  The vehicles were prepared by specialist extreme off-roader company Arctic Trucks, the same company that prepared the Top Gear vehicles.  

The latest VFACTS data shows 94,744 new vehicles were sold last month, an increase of 25.2 per cent or 19,094 vehicles.  The record March result eclipses the previous record set in March 2007 by 352 vehicles.It is the third month in a row that sales have grown, leading industry forecasters to predict that car sales could hit the magic million this year.  However, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is hosing down expectations, forecasting more modest 2010 sales of 970,000 vehicles.FCAI spokesman, James Goodwin, said there was no talk yet of revising upwards the VFACTS sales forecast.  "It would be great if we could reach the magic million but it is just too early to call given the easing of business sales and rising interest rates," he said.The Holden Commodore remains the country's number one family car with 4209 sold last month.  Toyota's lifestyle HiLux ute was the second most favourite seller last month, with 3935 sold.  Off-roaders continue to be the biggest sellers, with sales up 34 per cent this year.Top 10 cars - March1. Holden Commodore 42092. Toyota HiLux 39353. Hyundai i30 36784. Mazda3 35625. Toyota Corolla 35556. Ford Falcon 24967. Mitsubishi Lancer 22458. Nissan Navara 21549. Holden Cruze 212510. Toyota Yaris 2114Top Ten brands (March)1. Toyota 20,3062. Holden 11,7953. Ford 80924. Hyundai 77975. Mazda 74536. Nissan 65587. Mitsubishi 55568. Honda 41539. Subaru 367910. Volkswagen 3034

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.