Toyota News and Features 1 February 2019
TOYOTA NEWS AND FEATURES
The latest from the UK and overseas
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New Supra: on sale, on track and up for auction
The wraps came off the production Toyota GR Supra at the Detroit Motor Show, with order books opening at the same time for the eagerly anticipated new thoroughbred sportscar. Read more here.
Supra’s sporting future is already being mapped out, with Toyota Gazoo Racing revealing a car prepared for Japan’s Super GT 500 race series. It is scheduled to join the grid for the 2020 season. Read more here.
To mark the launch of the fifth generation of Supra, the ‘Global #1’ model was auctioned for charity in the USA, raising more than $2 million for good causes. Read more here.
Hilux conquers Dakar
Toyota took top honours in the 2019 Dakar rally with Nasser Al Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel leading the field home in their V8-powered Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Hilux after 10 days and more than 3,000 miles of driving across extreme terrain in Peru. Read more here.
Prius gains AWD for 2019
Prius takes another step into the future of Toyota self-charging hybrid power with the introduction of an all-wheel drive option for 2019. The AWD-i intelligent system, engineered specifically for the model, operates automatically when the car pulls away from stationary, and at higher speeds when it detects low grip conditions, such as rain, snow and ice. Read more here.
Toyota publishes 2018 production and sales figures
Toyota Motor Corporation has published its production and sales results for the 2018 calendar year. Figures show worldwide production rose by one per cent (Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles combined), while sales increased by two per cent on 2017’s performance, to 10,594,000 vehicles. Read more here.
Yaris adds Y20 and GR Sport
A revised Yaris line-up has gone on sale in the UK, featuring new Y20 and GR Sport models. The Y20 celebrates the 20th anniversary of Toyota’s successful supermini, while the GR Sport takes its cue from the Yaris GRMN performance hatch with a special paint livery, sporting features, lowered suspension and special shock absorbers and tyres. Read more here.
Toyota GB who’s who
Toyota (GB) PLC has made some New Year senior executive appointments with Rob Giles moving to the role of Director Customer Service and Chris Hayes taking on the duties of Director, People and Planning. Brief biographies of Rob, Chris and the other Toyota (GB) directors are available in the corporate section of the Toyota UK media website here.
Toyota to work with Panasonic on battery technology
Toyota and Panasonic have agreed to establish a joint venture covering the research, development, manufacturing and other aspects of automotive prismatic batteries. Their co-operation comes as consumers shift towards new automotive technologies and seek solutions to environmental issues. Read more here.
Burnaston celebrates new Corolla
A special ceremony was hosted at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s Burnaston car plant in Derbyshire to celebrate the start of production of the new Corolla Hatchback and Touring Sports. The factory underwent a multi-million-pound upgrade in order to produce vehicles using TNGA – the Toyota New Global Architecture. Read more here.
Best of the blog: Kris joins Toyota’s World Rally Championship campaign
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team has a new British recruit for the 2019 season, Kris Meeke. The official Toyota UK blog caught up with Kris at the launch of Toyota’s WRC campaign and found out more about his hopes for the year ahead and his new driving partnership with Seb Marshall in the Yaris WRC. Read more here.
Images and video resources
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Toyota social media channels
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Official Toyota UK media website
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Official Toyota UK Facebook page
Official Toyota GB Twitter @toyotagb
Official Toyota UK YouTube channel
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