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Toyota investing $200M in Southern manufacturing

Over the past two years, Toyota has invested more than $2 billion at its North American production facilities, and it apparently doesn't plan on stopping there. To keep up with recent strong sales, Toyota is investing an additional $200 million at its engine plants in the Southern US to increase production capacity of its V6 engines.
The bulk of this money ($150 million) will go to expand Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville, AL, which is currently responsible for supplying engines - four-cylinder, V6 and V8 - to eight of Toyota's 12 domestically produced vehicles. That includes the best-selling Toyota Camry (shown above).
Toyota didn't say exactly what improvements are being made to the plant, but this follows last year's $80 million investment in the plant that is set to be completed by next year raising the engine capacity to 750,000 annual units including 362,000 V6s. The remaining $50 million will go to the casting plants of Toyota-owned Bodine Aluminum in Missouri and Tennessee, which supply engine blocks and cylinder heads to the Huntsville engine plant as well as others in Kentucky and West Virginia. Scroll down below for the official press release.

Toyota recalls 1.37 million more vehicles for Takata airbags

Toyota is expanding its passenger-side Takata airbag inflator recall campaign by an additional 1.37 million vehicles in the United States. The models covered under this broadened recall are the 2003-2007 Corolla, Matrix, and Lexus SC430; the 2005-2006 Tundra; and the 2005-2007 Sequoia. In total, Toyota says that this expansion brings the number of its vehicles covered under the Takata inflator recall in the US to 2.915 million. For these latest models, owners will be notified by mail soon. The move is similar to a recent decision by Honda to broaden its recall list. As with millions of other vehicles covered under these recalls, it's possible for exposure to moisture to cause the inflator to ignite too quickly in an airbag deployment. This can cause shrapnel to be sprayed at occupants. At least seven deaths have been potentially linked to these ruptures worldwide. TOYOTA EXPANDS TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL TORRANCE, Calif., June 16, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. today announced that it is expanding its recalls involving Takata front passenger airbag inflators. Based on recent information from Takata and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Toyota will recall approximately 1,365,000 additional 2003-2007 Corolla and Corolla Matrix; 2005-2006 Tundra; 2005-2007 Sequoia; 2003-2007 Lexus SC430 vehicles. This brings the total number of Toyota and Lexus vehicles covered by Takata recalls in the U.S. to approximately 2,915,000. In the involved vehicles, the front passenger airbag inflators could potentially be susceptible to rupture when deployed and seriously injure vehicle occupants. "Toyota's focus remains on the safety and security of our customers, and we will continue to respond promptly to new developments so we can resolve issues for them as quickly, conveniently and safely as possible," said Dino Triantafyllos, chief quality officer, Toyota Motor North America. Multiple investigations into the root cause of the potential for inflator rupture are taking place, including by Orbital ATK, an independent engineering firm commissioned by an industry-wide joint testing initiative comprised of the ten automotive manufacturers conducting Takata-related recalls. All known owners of the affected Toyota / Lexus vehicles will be notified by first class mail to return their vehicles to a Toyota / Lexus dealer. The dealer will replace the airbag inflator with a newly manufactured one.

Toyota holds onto crown of World's Largest Automaker

Although there were hints and allegations that the Volkswagen Group might have taken the global sales crown for 2014, the final tally puts Toyota at the top with 10.23 million sales in 2014. We should really say it keeps Toyota at the top, since that makes three years in a row the Japanese company has been No. 1. Volkswagen Group came in second with 10.14 million units sold, General Motors in third with 9.92 million units sold. This the first time for both Toyota and Volkswagen to pass 10 million sales in a single year. Toyota, including its Hino and Daihatsu divisions, did it with a three-percent increase in company-wide sales on the back of strong demand in Japan and the US. Its strength in developed markets might be the reason it loses the title this year, though; Toyota forecasts a two-percent gain in sales outside of Japan, but a nine-percent drop in its home market because of a new consumption tax that encouraged buyers to purchase before the end of last year. On top of that, turmoil in Southeast Asian economies like Thailand and Indonesia depressed sales in 2014 and they're facing more headwinds. The company envisions 10.15 million sales in 2015. Volkswagen, on the other hand, "has a jet engine strapped to its back called 'China,'" where Toyota is out-of-sorts. Volkswagen Group sales fell 2.9 percent in the US last year, while Toyota gained 6.2 percent here. But Volkswagen roped in 3.7 million sales in China, a 12-percent increase. Toyota enjoyed a huge bump of 12.5 percent in China, but that only got it to 1.03 million units, missing its yearly target and leading to trouble with its Chinese dealers over unsold inventory. With Toyota on the Chinese sidelines while Volkswagen guns for No. 1 status and pledges more production capacity in China – sales there are expected to top 25 million units this year – it looks like this could be the year the VW Group takes over the lead. That would be three years ahead of its original target of 2018. An analyst in Japan said Toyota is more focused on "keeping profitability than chasing numbers" – profitability is an issue for VW right now – so Toyota might not be back at the top "for [the] coming years." News Source: Bloomberg, Automotive News - sub. req. Earnings/Financials GM Toyota Volkswagen Car Buying Daihatsu sales volkswagen group