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Toyota struggling in Latin American market, attempting recovery

With uncertainty in the US and Chinese markets, automakers are scrambling to rev up their efforts in what were traditionally secondary markets. Take Toyota's efforts in Latin America. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal highlights the Japanese brand's push in the southern hemisphere, particularly in Brazil, where it has expanded its operations and installed new executives with a greater range of powers, all in a bid to grab a bigger slice of the ever-growing South American pie.
South America is dominated by General Motors, Fiat and Volkswagen, which maintain a combined 60 percent of the market share - Toyota holds a mere 4.5 percent. The WSJ spoke with Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's boss in Latin America, who said, "We are playing catch up, but we're catching up fast. We now have the resources to give the region the attention it really needs and deserves."
That attention includes an all-new, locally produced small car called the Etios. As bewildering as it seems, Toyota wasn't competing in the low-cost economy car market in South America. With the Etios, which arrived in September of 2012, its sales in the first seven months of 2013 are up 75 percent.

Recharge Wrap-up: 10-year sentence for biodiesel fraudsters, overhead fast charging EV buses in Luxembourg

Toyota will use addressable TV advertising to target potential Prius Prime customers. By choosing to advertise in households with specific attributes, Toyota hopes to grab the attention of buyers who "see their vehicle as an extension of their consumption of advanced technology," according to Toyota Motors Sales media manager Lisa McQueen. The ad depicts a person who is skeptical of various inventions throughout history until he finds himself inside the Prius Prime. Hyundai has also used addressable TV ads for its Genesis brand. Read more at Automotive News. Two Florida men have each been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for biodiesel credit fraud. Thomas Davanzo and Robert Fedyna of Gen-X Energy Group and its subsidiary Southern Resources and Commodities were convicted of buying fuel that had already been sold with Renewable Identification Numbers, then fraudulently claiming more credits on that fuel. The scheme raked in more than $46 million, mostly in selling the fraudulent credits. Critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard point to incidents like this as a reason to oppose the program. Read more from Reuters. Volvo electric buses in Luxembourg will use Heliox Fast Charge systems. Public transport operator Sales-Lentz has ordered three of the Heliox systems that will charge the buses using pantograph (overhead wire) contacts. The chargers will be placed at end-of-route stops for opportunistic charging of the transport agency's four Volvo 7900 electric buses. The 450-kW, Wi-Fi-enabled OppCharge system automatically connects the charger to contact plates on the roofs of the vehicles, charging them in three to six minutes. Read more at Green Car Congress. Related Gallery 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Advanced View 35 Photos News Source: Automotive News, Reuters, Green Car CongressImage Credit: Volvo Buses Government/Legal Green Marketing/Advertising Toyota Volvo Biodiesel Technology Electric recharge wrapup

Impala crashes into Land Cruiser... to hide from a cheetah

What would you do if a wild animal jumped into your vehicle through an open window during an African safari? What if said animal was an impala being chased by cheetahs? Though the scenario seems unbelievable, that's just what happened to a group of tourists in Kruger National Park in South Africa, and it was all caught on video.
With the tour groups stopped, a motorist with a video camera handy happens to catch the unlikely sight of a herd of impalas (not that kind of Impala) jumping over the tarmac while being followed, quickly of course, by two cheetahs. The feline predators thought they had cornered one impala and were closing in for the kill when it jumped through the open window of a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado - South Africa's version of the Lexus GX. Fortunately for the occupants of said vehicle, the cheetahs did not follow.
A short while later, one of the occupants in the Toyota fearlessly opens a door to let the poor animal out. It must have been its lucky day, because the cheetahs didn't take pursuit. Check out the circle life get interrupted by this traffic jam in the video below.