Toyota makes friends, readies for backlash

[RAV4EVR]

............ so which one of you now wants the Mississippi governer impeached???......
Should I answer that?

At an event announcing that Toyota would be building a plant in his state, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour called the company the “world’s premiere auto manufacturer."

I have got that exact same cap.................

WASHINGTON - From a high school auditorium near the birthplace of Elvis, Toyota was greeted like a hometown hero this week when it announced its eighth vehicle assembly plant in North America.Students cheered as the automaker showed off a Highlander sport utility vehicle that will be built starting in 2010 at the $1.3 billion plant near Tupelo, Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour called Toyota Motor Corp. the “world’s premiere auto manufacturer,” and Sen. Trent Lott, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, promised “when you are in our constituency, we are warriors on your behalf.”
Toyota’s choice of Mississippi for a new plant should give it more clout on Capitol Hill. With Michigan-based automakers facing hardships, a few more members of Congress on its side helps as Toyota takes on some lawmakers who openly question whether what’s good for Toyota and other Japanese automakers is good for America.
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“They’re manipulating the yen and it creates big differences in what they can sell their automobiles for,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who represents thousands of Detroit-based auto workers. “Most of their vehicles are still coming from Japan.”
Stabenow and other lawmakers representing manufacturing states complain that the Japanese government has kept the yen artificially low, allowing their auto producers to undercut competitors and reap huge profits in the United States. They note that 46 percent of Toyota’s U.S. sales in 2006 came from vehicles imported from Japan, even as the company highlights its American work force and assembly plants in advertising.
Toyota could surpass General Motors Corp. as the world’s No. 1 automaker next year, but the company has downplayed the significance, saying it’s more concerned with its customers, maintaining quality and rolling out a lineup that includes the new Tundra full-sized pickup — built in San Antonio, Texas.
In U.S. sales released Thursday, the company had its best February ever, posting sales increases of more than 12 percent. Sales of its Prius hybrid grew 86.8 percent while Camry and Corolla sales showed hefty increases.
Privately, Toyota officials acknowledge the potential pitfalls of growing rapidly in the U.S. during a period of job cuts and plant closings for GM, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group.
Seiichi “Sean” Sudo, president of Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing in North America, warned in a recent presentation that the automaker could become “a scapegoat” as its Detroit-based competitors work through turnaround plans.
“With recent market-share gains and sales continuing to increase, we are becoming the de facto leader of the industry — that brings risks and responsibilities,” according to the document, obtained last month by the Detroit Free Press. “Our competitors are jealous of our success.”
Toyota has opened a major advertising campaign both inside the Beltway and beyond, touting its job creation in America. Commuters riding the escalator into a Capitol Hill Metro stop are greeted by a large red banner that declares: “386,000. Bird watchers in Nebraska. Kilometers to the Moon. Jobs created by Toyota in the U.S.”
The statistics were from a 2005 Toyota-backed study by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Studies which calculated the company’s overall job imprint of direct, dealer and supplier employees and other spin-off jobs. The company had nearly 35,000 direct workers in the U.S. in 2006, up from more than 12,000 in 1990.
Toyota currently has 10 plants in eight states and will start producing Camrys at a former Subaru plant in Indiana this year. It also has a research and design center in Ann Arbor, Mich. that Toyota plans to expand.

[Corona67]

Haley Barbour is slime; that has nothing to do with Toyota.

C

But he is now a Toyota fan, so perhaps he can be forgiven

[Z28Wilson]

I wonder how much in tax breaks Mississippi offered Toyota to build there as opposed to the other 2 states in the running.

EDIT: Nevermind, saw it in another thread. $297M in free money isn't a bad way to start.

Sales of its Prius hybrid grew 86.8 percent

Ok, can someone please confirm if the demand for Prius is rising or falling? Every week practically there is an article stating hybrid demand is waning, but I see figures like this from Toyota....I'm confused.....

[Toysrme]

-- CURRENT MONTH -- -- CALENDAR YEAR TO DATE -- DSR % DSR %
2007 2006 CHG 2007 2006 CHG
PRIUS 12,227 6,547 86.8 20,526 14,201 41.6






Camry Hybrid reported sales of 3,332 units in February. The Prius hybrid gas-electric mid-size sedan posted all-time best-ever sales of 12,227, an increase of 87 percent.
The Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined February sales of 9,368, up 3.7 percent over the same period last year. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported sales of 1,892 units for the month.
The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,249 units for the month.


TMS calendar-year-to-date hybrid sales totaled 31,933 units, an increase of 67 percent over the year-ago. In February, TMS posted sales of 18,860 hybrid vehicles, up 92 percent over last February. Toyota Division posted sales of 17,451 hybrids, up 90 percent over the same period last year, while the Lexus Division posted sales of 1,409 hybrids.

There were 24 selling days this sales month and last February.

Toyota sells hybrids at the rate they can produce them.

[nmehes]

"Most of their vehicles are still coming from Japan"


Stuff like this drives me nuts. Only in a Senator's mind is 46% most! When Toyota starts building Rav4's in Ontario and Highlander's in Mississippi that number will drop even further. The actual number is even lower currently as Camry hybrid is now built in US.

NA built Toyotas:

Camry
Corolla
Matrix
Sequoia
Sienna
Tundra
Tacoma
Avalon
Solara

Soon to be built in NA:

Rav4
Highlander


That leaves the global platforms of

Prius
Yaris
and
4runner (and the vehicle built on its platform the FJ Cruiser)


I even suspect the 46% includes Lexus and Scion....but I'm not sure. And as for "undercutting" doesn't Toyota generally sell their vehicles for MORE than the comparable Big 3 products?

[xpeed]

Most Lexus' are built in japan, as are Scions.

Camry hybrids are being built in Japan but like you said, will be start production in the NA soon. Highlanders are built in Japan and NA.
Prius are built only in Japan.
Rav4s will be built in NA as well.

FJ Cruisers are also built in Japan.

[aznstylez]

I think the Scion TC is built in NA. The XB is the one that is built in Japan. Don't know about the XA though.

[Bugmenot]

Originally Posted by xpeed

Most Lexus' are built in japan, as are Scions.

Camry hybrids are being built in Japan but like you said, will be start production in the NA soon. Highlanders are built in Japan and NA.
Prius are built only in Japan.
Rav4s will be built in NA as well.

FJ Cruisers are also built in Japan.

I thought the Camry Hybrid is already in production in GTown.

[Bugmenot]

Originally Posted by aznstylez

I think the Scion TC is built in NA. The XB is the one that is built in Japan. Don't know about the XA though.

No, all Scions are built in Japan.