toyota

Let's face it, Toyota does not believe in electric cars. Not the battery-powered plug-in kind anyway. Plug-in hybrids? Sure. Fuel cells? As soon as feasible. But a simple EV? No, that just isn't Toyota's thing – a few side projects notwithstanding. "If the electricity is not sourced ...

A return to the 'plus' column? That's what happened last month to Toyota with its Prius line of hybrids, as the Japanese automaker boosted year-over year sales of the model. Toyota sold 23,522 Prius vehicles, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier. Sales of the standard hatchback Prius jumped 17 ...

The Toyota Prius is no stranger to recalls. Earlier this year, over half a million of the popular hybrids were called back for steering shaft issues (after another steering issue back in 2011). And the Prius V was the subject of a service campaign for exhaust issues a year ago. Today, Toyota ...

Sure, it's a PR play to raise awareness for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, but Toyota's first-ever Prius MPG Challenge is for a good cause. Fifteen of them, for starters. The Japanese automaker officially began the contest Wednesday in West Caldwell, New Jersey. The idea is to let representatives ...

There are already lithium-ion batteries in some Toyota vehicles (the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the RAV4 EV and the European Prius+, for example), but the company's standard bearer – the non-plug Prius hybrid – still relies on nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells. But, the future belongs to ...

For Toyota and the new version of its Auris Hybrid that goes on sale starting next month, less is more. In this case, the Auris Hybrid will get an engine that cuts emissions by more than three percent from the current version. The Auris Hybrid that goes on sale next month will emit just 84 grams ...

Toyota, looking to further boost the "shiny, happy" quotient of the model eco-district it's built in Japan's Toyota City, has installed a charging station specifically to be used for its single-passenger electro-mobility vehicles. The Smart Mobility Park charging station, located in Toyota ...

Year-over-year advanced-powertrain sales numbers in the US continued to slow last month as Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda failed to hit the demand levels seen in 2012. A surge in Nissan Leaf sales, which helped push plug-in sales up 41 percent from a year earlier, and demand for newer ...

Whether working with BMW or the US Department of Energy, Toyota is involved in hydrogen vehicle technology around the world. The newest corner is London, where a deal with the London Hydrogen Partnership (LHP) was just announced. Toyota is the only major automaker on the LHP's list of members, ...

For out there who's freaked out that the electromagnetic waves from a hybrid or plug-in vehicle will throw off pacemakers and cause heart attacks, go ahead and breathe easy: that ain't gonna happen. No less of an authority than the Mayo Clinic took it upon itself to test whether pacemakers or ...

We're not sure if you can throw tire chains on the super-narrow Toyota i-Road electric vehicle, but it's a question worth asking. That's because the Japanese automaker is partnering with the French city of Grenoble, located in the Alps, to deploy a car-sharing program that will include about 70 ...

Toyota is showing off its European-market minicar iQ with a splash on the streets of Portugal. An ultra-limited edition Toyota iQ, called the iQ Urban Art was created by award-winning artist Joana Vasconcelos. There are only five editions going on sale, each one featuring a color scheme inspired ...

Toyota has never been a big fan of lithium ion batteries, and has a plan in place to replace them with solid-state batteries that are three-to-four times more powerful. Toyota will commercialize solid-state batteries around 2020 and lithium air batteries – which offer a fivefold increase ...

This video might rank up there with Katrina & The Waves' "Walking On Sunshine" when it comes to putting the viewer in a good mood. Toyota does the honors by showing off a quartet of its all-electric i-Road concept vehicles literally sashaying through what appears to be a French seaside town ...

In California, "low rider" has long implied a gas-guzzling hot rod. Toyota is now making that term a little more utilitarian in Japan. Toyota, working with Hino Motors and Yamato Transport Co., is testing out a pair of all-electric delivery van that will be used for refrigerated trucking in ...

Toyota appears to be in a New York State of Mind when it comes to trying to boost sales of its Prius Plug-in hybrid. The Japanese automaker wants to sell as many as 13,000 Prius PHEVs this year and is offering some deep discounts, especially in the Manhattan area, to hit that target, Wards Auto ...

The new Toyota i-Road concept moves in mysterious ways. So mysterious, in fact, that Toyota provided hourly driving demonstrations at its booth at the Geneva Motor Show. The quirky three-wheeler whirled around on a sort of road, the rear wheel looking for all the world like it was losing its grip ...

Americans may have finally gotten a taste of Toyota Prius overkill, hinted at by last month's rare decline in year-over-year sales for the world's most popular hybrid. The Prius' decline caused overall advanced powertrain vehicle sales numbers in February to level off considerably relative to ...

The grain of salt one should take this post with is that Wayne Gerdes is just one man, and that his personal test results may not be applicable to everyone. Still, Gerdes is well-known in the green car community – his Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption in a hybrid and his ...

Together, Toyota and its Lexus luxury arm broke the 100,000-unit barrier for hybrid vehicle sales in Europe last year, Automotive News Europe reports. Long known for their diesel-buying preferences as a way to boost fuel economy, Europeans upped their Toyota and Lexus hybrid purchases by a ...