2002 Le Used 2.4l I4 16v Automatic Fwd Sedan on 2040-cars

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Toyota outsells VW for global sales crown, apologizes with a vow to 'be honest'

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows in apology during a press conference Tuesday over the group companies' quality scandals. (Getty Images)   Every quarter, the stock market hangs on how much sales growth Tesla and other startups have experienced. There's growth, but then there's sheer output, and when it comes to deliveries dominance, one company can't be touched. Toyota on Tuesday announced that it remained the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth year running, with record sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Toyota's global group sales jumped 7.2% last year; the numbers include sales at Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%. Toyota's annual output handily beat runner-up Volkswagen Group, which this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars. That growth was driven largely by demand for Audi, which sold 1.9 million vehicles. The auto industry in 2023 enjoyed a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased, though shipping problems through the Red Sea so far this year have stalled that progress by some automakers, causing some car plants in Europe to suspend production. Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector. Scandals and an apology Toyota's chairman apologized on Tuesday for scandals at the three group companies. Daihatsu, Hino and affiliate Toyota Industries have been beset by governance issues involving certification test procedures for cars and engines that could potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and safety. "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters. He was speaking at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group, which was founded by his great-grandfather and now includes 17 companies.

Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell Mirai isn't good enough to be a Lexus

It looks like the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle from Lexus will be faster than previously advertised, but it will get to the market slower than expected. It's all part of the paradox involved with Toyota looking to broaden its fuel-cell technology beyond the Mirai. Either way, the first Lexus fuel-cell vehicle is slated to start sales by the end of the decade, said Auto Express, citing comments from Alain Uyttenhoven, head of Lexus Europe. Uyttenhoven noted that it'd take an SUV to provide enough space to accommodate the packaging for the Lexus fuel cell powertrain. That comment may imply that the hydrogen-fueled powertrain from Lexus will offer similar performance to that of the Lexus RX450h hybrid SUV. That model delivers 300 horsepower and boasts a 0 to 60 mile-per-hour time of about seven seconds. Such a mill would be a departure from what we'd previously reported on Toyota's plans to expand its fuel-cell technology to its Lexus luxury badge. With Toyota believed to be planning to unveil as many as three fuel-cell models in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Japanese automaker said early last year that it may have a Lexus fuel-cell vehicle available as soon as 2017, while reports suggesting the model would be a Lexus LS-based sedan. Additionally, the Mirai's fuel-cell powertrain had been believed to be the platform for the proposed Lexus fuel cell from the moment that model started sales in California last year. Apparently, though, the Mirai's 152-horsepower powertrain, coupled with a full-tank range that would be about 20 percent less than the 300-mile Mirai, isn't up to snuff for Lexus duty. Related Video: News Source: Auto Express via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Jonathon Ramsey / AOL Green Lexus Toyota Hydrogen Cars mirai

2015 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro

Despite the earnest efforts of Japanese automakers like Toyota and Nissan, the American pickup truck scene remains wholly dominated by the likes of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. This is not news. Part of the reason is because of the sheer number of variants offered by US automakers - everything from work-spec base trucks to house-leveling heavy duty models can be had, with a seemingly endless combination of engines, cab sizes, bed lengths and trim levels. It's a hugely profitable business, and though the Japanese automakers still offer competitive fullsize trucks, in terms of sheer volume, they simply don't compete.
But American pickups aren't just about work; there's a huge play aspect involved, too. Look at the desert-storming Ford F-150 SVT Raptor or the Ram Power Wagon - these butch trucks are built with superb off-road prowess in mind, and Detroit's Japanese rivals have once again largely been silent in this segment. Until now.
Introduced at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, Toyota now offers the TRD Pro series of models that, in addition to the crazy-orange Tundra seen here, includes the smaller Tacoma pickup and 4Runner SUV. And this isn't just some pretty appearance package, either - there's honest-to-goodness capability baked into all of the TRD Pro models. Intriguing, for sure, so I recently spent a weekend with the big boy Tundra to see what's what.