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Toyota, Ford decide to end hybrid collaboration before it starts

Not all so-called Memorandum of Understanding pacts end in actual collaborations. For instance, after a two-year "feasibility study," Toyota and Ford have just announced that they will not be developing hybrid systems for use in light trucks and SUVs as previously planned, and the two automakers will instead continue to develop their own hybrid technology independently.
The would-be collaboration was first announced in August of 2011, and would have seen a rear-wheel-drive hybrid platform that would "improve the efficiency of trucks and SUVs while still allowing them to be driven in the way customers expect," according to our initial post on the topic.
Keep in mind that this announcement isn't to say we shouldn't expect hybrid pickups and SUVs from the two automakers, but that they probably aren't coming very soon - Ford says it will have a system "before the end of this decade" and we haven't heard much from Toyota on the hybrid truck front since the 2008 A-BAT Concept (pictured above) - and that they will not share any components between them (and they never have, for what it's worth).

Toyota World's Top-Selling Carmaker For Second Year

Toyota remained the top-selling automaker for a second year in a row, beating U.S. rival General Motors by some 270,000 vehicles in 2013, and set an ambitious target to sell more than 10 million vehicles this year. That would mark a milestone as no automaker has ever topped annual worldwide sales of 10 million. Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it sold a record 9.98 million vehicles worldwide last year, up 2 percent from the previous year. The Japanese automaker has made an impressive comeback from an earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in 2011, damaging auto suppliers and hobbling production. Toyota also outlined plans to sell 10.32 million vehicles and produce 10.43 million vehicles in 2014. General Motors Co. sold 9.71 million cars and trucks worldwide last year, outselling Volkswagen AG of Germany at 9.5 million. Toyota recaptured the global sales crown in 2012 from GM, which had been the top-selling carmaker for more than seven decades until being surpassed by Toyota in 2008. Toyota, which makes the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, had strong sales growth last year in overseas markets, although sales fell in long stagnant Japan. Toyota's U.S. sales totaled nearly 2.24 million vehicles, up 7 percent from the previous year. Its China sales were also strong, surging 9 percent to 917,000. Toyota remained optimistic about prospects this year for both regions, expecting sales to grow 3 percent in the U.S. to 2.3 million vehicles, while adding 20 percent in China sales to 1.1 million. The company was typically low-key about the bragging rights for being No. 1, reiterating its comments from previous years that it was merely making one car at a time to appeal to global consumers. GM has also expressed similar sentiments, but being the top seller is a key morale booster for the employees and related companies. The healthy results at the three rivals reflect the momentum of growth in the auto industry. Toyota has undergone tough times in recent years, such as a massive recall fiasco in the U.S. involving more than 14 million vehicles for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats, problematic brakes and many other defects, spanning several years from 2009. Related Gallery AOL Autos Test Drive: 2014 Toyota Highlander Toyota Ownership sales selling

2015 will be the biggest year ever for cars at CES

Like the SEMA Show, major automakers are paying increasing attention to the CES, with 2015 expected to be one of the most auto focused yet. Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, Audi, BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will all be in attendance when CES 2015 kicks off next week, taking up a record-breaking 165,000 square feet of space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We've come a long way from a single car on a carpet," Ford's Alan Hall told Bloomberg. Unlike SEMA, or a more traditional auto show, like the upcoming festivities in Detroit, CES doesn't necessarily focus on entire cars or the way they perform, but on the way our technology will interact with vehicles, and in how those vehicles will deliver information to drivers. "CES has become a major launch point for a lot of the big automakers," IHS tech analyst Mark Boyadjis told Bloomberg. "CES is a way for them to get on a global stage for technology." As for what kind of wares automakers will trot out in Las Vegas, we already know that BMW will show off an autonomous i3 electric car that can navigate its way through a multistory car park and can be hailed via a smartwatch app. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai will show off its own smartwatch app for the Genesis sedan, while Audi and Mercedes-Benz will show off autonomous vehicles next week. Automakers won't be the only companies looking to capitalize on CES. Tech firms, like chipmaker Nvidia, are becoming increasingly involved in the automotive game and will be in town showing their wares off to OEMs. "Two years ago, our booth would have been filled with PCs and people playing video games," Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director for automotive business, told Bloomberg. "This year we made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the booth on automotive and de-prioritize some of the other things." Needless to say, you can expect to see a lot of news out of Las Vegas come next week. Stay tuned. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Julie Jacobson / AP CES Audi BMW Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Mazda Toyota Volkswagen Technology CES 2015