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Toyota sold a million hybrids in last nine months, 6M since 1997

Toyota's first hybrid model – the Prius – went on sale in 1997 in Japan. It took 14 years for the company to see a cumulative total of three million hybrids (a mark reached in March 2011). Today, Toyota announced that its global sales figures of all of its gas-electric models (and there are a lot of them now, including ones we've barely heard of here in the US, like the Crown Majesta or the Harrier Hybrid) have reached six million. Toyota calculates that all those hybrids have saved 41 million tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere. Toyota's ever-increasing hybrid sales pace means the company sold as many in the last three years as it did in the first fourteen. As you can see in our chart, the trendline shows that we'll hit the next-million mark in short order. In fact, Toyota says that it sold a million hybrids in the last nine months, the shortest time it has ever taken the automaker to sell that many hybrids. Part of the reason is that there are 24 hybrid Toyota and Lexus models available around the world, and Toyota says another 15 will be coming in the next two years. Anyone want to guess when Toyota will hit seven million? August? Worldwide Sales of Toyota Hybrids Top 6 Million Units Toyota City, Japan, January 15, 2014-Toyota Motor Corporation announces that cumulative global sales of its hybrid vehicles topped the 6 million unit mark as of December 31, 2013, reaching 6.072 million units1. The latest million-unit milestone was achieved in the fastest time yet for Toyota, taking just nine months. Helping mitigate the environmental effects of vehicles is a priority at Toyota. Based on its belief that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have a positive impact if they are widely used, Toyota has endeavored to encourage the mass-market adoption of hybrid vehicles. As of this month, Toyota sells 24 hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid model in approximately 80 countries and regions around the world. Furthermore, within the next two years, Toyota will launch a total of 15 new hybrid vehicles worldwide, including the new "Harrier Hybrid" in Japan on January 15 and the new "Highlander Hybrid" in the United States in the near future. Toyota will continue augmenting its product lineup even further and increasing the number of countries and regions where it sells hybrid vehicles.

Car theft skyrockets thanks to rising parts prices

Cars and trucks today have achieved a high level of average quality, with safety and technology features that keep occupants safer than ever and meet consumers' high expectations. But the National Insurance Crime Bureau finds that those components come with a rising price tag, leading to expensive repair bills — and rising vehicle thefts to support a thriving black market for parts. The nonprofit NICB said it looked at the cost of replacement parts for the top 10 stolen 2016 models, with average OEM part prices pulled from a database of more than 24 million vehicle damage appraisals generated for 2016 and 2017 insurance claims. The list did not include major components like engines or transmissions, only easily-stripped components like bumpers, doors, hoods and headlights. It found that: The 2016 Toyota Camry, which had a used market value of around $15,000, had 15 commonly replaced parts that added up to almost $11,000, not including labor, with quarter panels alone costing almost $1,600 a pair and a set of alloy wheels tallying more than $1,600. The Camry was also the top stolen vehicle in 2016 at 1,113 thefts. A 2016 Nissan Altima had 14 standard parts worth more than $14,000, including a single headlamp assembly that costs just over $1,000. The Altima was the second-top stolen vehicle in 2016 at 1,063 vehicles stolen. And the 2016 GMC Sierra pickup, which was No. 7 on the 2016 top-stolen list, rang up $21,000 from 20 standard components, including an $1,100 headlamp assembly and an $1,100 rear bumper. "For the professional theft ring, stealing and stripping vehicles for parts has always been a lucrative business," Jim Schweitzer, NICB's senior vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "On today's cars and trucks, the parts are often worth more than the intact vehicle and may be easier to move and sell. That's why we see so many thefts of key items like wheels and tires and tailgates ... there's always a market for them." Check out the NICB infographic below. Vehicle thefts in the U.S. rose by more than 4 percent in 2017, based on preliminary FBI data, after rising 7.6 percent in 2016, though the overall trend has been down since vehicle thefts peaked in 1991, according to the NICB. Related Video: Image Credit: National Insurance Crime Bureau Aftermarket GMC Nissan Toyota Auto Repair Insurance Ownership auto parts car values stolen car nicb national insurance crime bureau components

Auto execs surveyed say VW, BMW most likely to grow

A new survey of top global automotive executives indicates both Volkswagen and BMW are the most likely to grow their market share over the next five years.
Tax advisory firm KPMG LLP has released its 14th annual Global Automotive Executive Survey, which includes responses from over 200 executives. A total of 81 percent of respondents said they expect to see Volkswagen make gains, compared to 70 percent last year. BMW, meanwhile, saw 70 percent of those surveyed say they believe the company will increase its market share. That's a jump of 7 percentage points over last year. This is the first time in the history of the survey that BMW has claimed the second-place spot.
Meanwhile, Hyundai has seen its perceived market share potential slacken for the third year in a row. Around 61 percent of those surveyed predicted gains for Hyundai, down from 63 in 2012. Toyota also has a surprising year, but for just the opposite reason. While the manufacturer had slipped in ranking since 2011, it enjoyed the largest increase of any company in the 2013 survey, jumping to 68 percent from 44 percent last year.