Toyota Prius Hybrid Family

The March 11 earthquake that shook Japan to its core had many collateral damages, one of which was vehicle manufacturing. For example, more than 650 of Toyota’s suppliers suffered great damages and halted production, forcing the Japanese automaker to reconsider its strategy.

Two weeks later, its management had reached the conclusion that it should focus its worldwide resources mainly on one model line. “We were rapidly burning through cash, so in order to survive this we prioritized the cars our customers wanted most” explained head of production Atsushi Niimi.

So which vehicles were the chosen ones? Could it be the cars that helped it the most to become the world’s number one car manufacturer since 2008? Nope: Corolla and Camry would have to take a back seat to hybrids, and especially the Prius. Therefore, Toyota started off by ensuring that it could find parts for the Prius and the Lexus hybrids.

“The last several years have been a triple shock for Toyota” said Masatoshi Nishimoto of Tokyo-based consulting company HIS Inc. “It’s now at a major turning point.”

The first came in 1990. Up until that point, six of the world’s 10 biggest companies were Japanese, with Toyota in ninth place. When the real estate bubble burst, things changed dramatically: Toyota is the sole Japanese company in BusinessWeek’s top 50 ranking, down to 35th place.

Then there was the 2009-2010 floor-mat and sticky pedal recall saga. The way it was handled resulted in a $16.4 million dollar fine by the NHTSA and millions of recalls – which meant more millions lost, and perhaps more importantly, the loss of Toyota’s reputation as the manufacturer of the world’s most reliable cars.

This year’s earthquake, along with the strengthening of the yen against the US dollar, made things even more difficult as of all Japanese car manufacturers, Toyota is the one that builds the most cars domestically.

Toyota will certainly lose the number one spot on world sales to General Motors this year andLexus, after a decade, falls behind rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now, Akio Toyoda is betting his company’s future on hybrid technology and especially the Prius. The three new models of the world’s best-selling hybrid take center spot have to succeed if the company is to make a quick recovery.

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Toyota Introduces the 2012 Camry, this Time in Japan

Toyota continues the roll out of country-specific versions of its new generation Camry with the launch of the Japanese domestic market (JDM) derivative of the mid-size sedan, which follows the recent introductions of the North American and Ukrainian models.
In Japan, the 2012 Camry is offered at launch exclusively as a hybrid model with power coming from a newly developed 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle, four-cylinder engine delivering 160HP and an electric motor with 143HP, for a combined maximum output of 205 horsepower.
Toyota says that the JDM Camry Hybrid delivers a fuel efficiency of 26.5 km/lt [62.3mpg US or 3.8lt/100km] under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) 10-15 test cycle and 23.4 km/lt [55mpg US or 4.3lt/100km] under the JC08 test cycle.
When it comes to the exterior styling, the JDM Camry comes closer to the Ukrainian model but sports a different front grille and bumper designs, tweaked especially for the hybrid to improve aerodynamics and consequently, its fuel efficiency.
New active safety features for the JDM Camry include a Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) function that prevents the vehicle from rolling backward when starting up on a hill, a Steering-assisted Vehicle Stability Control (S-VSC) system, electric power steering and braking.
In addition, the HDD navigation system has been updated and provides audio and visual warnings to the driver if the car goes the wrong way through a tollgate, on a highway or service area access road.
Pricing in Japan starts from 3,040,000 yen [US$39,300] for the base model and tops out at 3,800,000 yen [US$49,100] for the G-Package combined with a leather interior.

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Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans

If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is Honda.
It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on.
However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.
In the USA, the Civic enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a reliable, frugal and well-made car. But when the new Civic sedan and coupe made their debut at the New York Motor Show last April, pundits were less than impressed. Then came the Consumer Reports test, and all hell broke loose.
While the Civic's predecessors had often been Consumer Reports’ highest rated small sedans as well as "Top Picks" in five of the last 10 years, the new model scored too low to be "Recommended". To make a bad situation worse, it was placed second-to-last in CR’s ratings of 12 small sedans, followed only by the revamped Volkswagen Jetta.
Is it because Honda decided to cut corners in designing the ninth generation of the Civic, reducing costs and, in the process, quality, or is it that the competition like Hyundai’s Elantra, have improved greatly in their latest iterations, catching up and even surpassing the establishment?
“When I saw the interior of the new Civic, it worried me” Tatsuo Yoshida, an auto analyst at UBS Securities, told Reuters. “The mileage was impressive. But Korean brands are upping the ante with game-changing improvements to their cars’ interior. For people buying a new car for the first time, they are becoming an increasingly attractive option”.
A more worrying prospect is the one expressed by Edmunds.com analyst Bill Visnic: that Honda is slowly, but surely, losing its character: “Honda built its reputation on engineering excellence. They are now becoming kind of a very normal car company”.
American sales are very important to Honda since the US is its biggest market, accounting for almost 30% of its global sales.
But the game is far from over as in 2010, Honda held a 10.7 percent share of the U.S. car market making it the country's number four automaker with three of its core models, the Civic, the Accord and the CR-V, occupying the first or second place of their respective segments.
Moreover, it seems that Hyundai is not stealing so many sales from Honda as the Civic's share in its segment has grown 2.7% in the last four years.
Apparently, the Koreans are filling in the void left by defunct brands like GM's Saturn and Pontiac. Moreover, it is difficult to judge buyers’ reaction to the new Civic since the March 11 earthquake in Japan has reduced inventory for all Japanese brands, with Honda’s US sales recording a 10% drop so far this year
Even if sales of the Civic improve, Honda needs to do something fast. According to J.D. Power, Honda’s main strength was its consistently high ranking in durability and reliability studies. That's what convinced many buyers to choose one of the firm's cars. In J.D. Power's latest report published in June, Honda still held the number one spot among the mass-market brands. In contrast, Hyundai ranked below average.
However, in another study that measures overall appeal, J.D. Power reported that Hyundai was the most improved brand: “Reliability is important,” admitted J.D. Power’s director of automotive research Raffi Festekjian. “But you know what? You still need to make a vehicle than is appealing, fun to drive and comfortable to sit in”. Unfortunately for Honda, in this survey it was fourth from the bottom.
Our take is that Honda needs to reinvent itself by bringing back some of the engineering magic that made its products stand out from the crowd and devote more resources on the design aspect of its cars as styling is becoming an increasingly important factor in consumer choice these days.
The Japanese company could communicate these changes with the introduction of one or more "halo" cars such as a replacement for the S2000 before applying them on mainstream models like the Civic. Lets not forget, Honda established the reputation of being an innovative automaker with cars like the S2000 and the NSX (sold as an Acura in North America but as a Honda in the rest of the world). 

 

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GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place

Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles.
As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide.
Toyota has announced that its factories already operate at 90% of their capacity since June and expects production to fully recover by November. Moreover, it will produce an additional 350,000 units from October until next March to make up for the lost ground.
However, analysts like Carnorama’s Takeshi Miyao, don't believe that Toyota can recuperate quickly: “Even if it recovers production it will take another few more months for sales to recover too, as it takes time to deliver the cars to the dealers. Therefore, Toyota may even trail VW in the full year as well”.

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Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed More than 100%

Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000.

And that’s only private customers, excluding rental or dealer test drive models. The Demio is also the first Mazda model to exceed 10,000 registrations in a single month since March 2004.
As expected, the new 13-SKYACTIVE model accounts for the vast majority of sales, since it has been the model of choice for 70% of the orders, surpassing initial projections of 60%.
Mazda's senior managing executive officer in charge of domestic business, Nobuhide Inamoto, said, "Mazda is extremely grateful for the strong support from so many customers who have pushed sales of the facelifted Demio well beyond our sales plan. Mazda's next-generation SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY is also proving popular and we are confident that it will have a positive impact on our overall sales in Japan."
“Following the Demio, we will continue the rollout of our breakthrough SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY with the facelifted Mazda Axela (Mazda3) this fall and the all-new Mazda CX-5 next year".
Demio’s customers are mostly single men and women, as well as people over 40 who are downsizing to a smaller, more efficient cars. They cite the reasons for their choice as the Demio’s fuel economy (as low as 3.33 lt/100 or 70.6 mpg in the Japanese driving cycle), its advanced technology and its quiet cabin.

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