Toyota Avensis car production

Toyota has started car production of its brand new Avensis at its Burnaston plant, which is Toyota’s largest production site in Europe. This brings some welcome news for the British manufacturing industry and will secure many jobs for the future.

The new Toyota Avensis was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year and builds on the practicality and spaciousness of the old model, with a contemporary, sharper new design, a quieter cabin and better driving dynamics. The top-selling 2.0-litre D-4D diesel engine has also been improved to offer lower CO2 emissions (as low as 119g/km) and better fuel economy.

New Toyota Avensis

The new Avensis is launched in T2, TR and T Spirit saloon, with prices matched to that of the outgoing model and there is a small decrease in the price of the T4 models. The full range of all new Avensis models is below. Toyota contract hire prices are available now with first deliveries expected in December if you order soon.

Toyota has retained its position as the top-rated brand in the automotive sector in the latest global brand report from Interbrand. They climbed by six percentage points this year and were also 11th overall in the annual study of company brands worldwide.

Toyota has had a pretty tough year with the quality issues they faced in 2010 and the effects of the Japanese earthquake. Their achievement in dealing with the challenges they faced was highlighted in the interbrand report.

The brand ranking is calculated by looking at three key aspects:

1. The financial performance of branded products and services.
2. The role of the brand in purchase decisions.
3. The strength of the brand in securing earnings for the company.

Details of the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2011 report can be found at www.interbrand.com

Lightning GT

The British designed and built Lightning GT supercar has been entered into the 2011 RAC Future Car Challenge which is on the 5th November. The 60-mile route is from Madeira Drive in Brighton to London’ Regent Street with the challenge for each entrant to use as little energy as possible.

The Lightning GT has two electric motors providing 300kW (about 400hp) to the rear wheels and has a 0-60mph time of just 5 seconds, with a top speed of 125mph. The range of the car is over 150 miles and with the addition of the range extender pack this increases to 225 miles. Charging takes as little as 10 minutes with an”ultrafast” off-board charger, 2.5 hours with the on-board charger and 15 hours from a domestic charger (using an adaptor).

There are around 80 low-energy pioneering cars competing in the RAC event from hybrid, hydrogen and low emission combustion engine cars and commercial vehicles, with manufacturers such as Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota , Nissan, Vauxhall, Skoda and Volkswagen all participating.

If you are interested in leasing a low emission, fuel efficient car, then try the Vehicle Type Leasing Shopper where you can select the bodystyle, CO2 emissions target and combined mpg you require.

Mini E

BMW and Mini will both participate in the forthcoming 2011 RAC Future Car Challenge which will take place on Saturday the 5th November, the day before the RAC’s famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The RAC Future Car Challenge starts at Madeira Drive in Brighton and the challenge is to drive to London using the least energy possible, within the 2hrs 45 minimum and 3hrs 30min maximum time permitted.

A BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics saloon car will be joined by two all-electric, emission free concept vehicles, the BMW ActiveE and Mini E. The BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics is the greenest production car that BMW has ever built and is capable of CO2 emissions of 110g/km and a remarkable 68.9 combined mpg. This car is no slouch however and still manages a 0-62mph time of eight seconds and on to a top speed of 142mph. 

The Mini E has already been proving its capabilities with a six months trial with 40 volunteers and this all-electric car has a 150kW (200bhp) electric motor powering the front wheels and offers a range of around 156 miles. The Mini E is just one phase in the BMW Project i scheme, that will see the launch of a mass-produced electric vehicle, the BMW i3 in 2013.

The BMW ActiveE will also undertake a series of six-month trials with over 1,000 volunteers worldwide and is another evolution in BMW’s Project i scheme. The ActiveE has a 168hp electric synchronous motor which propels the car from 0-60mph in in nine seconds and on to a limited top speed of 90mph. Recharging can be performed via a 13A or 32A power supply and takes around eight or five hours respectively. The car also has regenerative braking which helps extend the range to 100 miles between charges.

In addition to these BMW and Mini models, other car manufacturers will be bringing a range of their hybrid, hydrogen and low-emission internal combustion cars and light-commercial vans to the event. Last year car manufacturers such as Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Vauxhall, Skoda and Volkswagen attended. This year the total number of entries has been increased to 90, with a range of awards in up to 22 different categories, as well as by their power source.

Subaru XV

Subaru will be unveiling their Subaru XV “Urban Adventure” sporty crossover concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show this month. This C-segment crossover concept features Subaru’s next-generation power unit and Subaru core technologies like the symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive and Subaru Dynamic Control Concept, making this not only a fun car to drive but also very safe.

In addition, Subaru will show off their all-new Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car, the Subaru BRZ PROLOGUE, which is currently under joint development with the Toyota Corporation. The car features Subaru’s new platform built around the Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine which is also a brand new direct injection unit built especially for the new car.

Toyota Enthusiasts Club

The Toyota Enthusiasts Club was founded by in 1991 by Nik Ellis and Bob Willis, who both shared an appreciation for Toyota cars. Last weekend the club celebrated its 20th anniversary at its annual meeting at Billing Aquadrome, near Northampton, with around 45 classic Toyotas on show.

The club has around 150 members and some of the cars that turned up included a 1970′s Hiace Campervan driven by Raf Evers from Belguim, who also owns 36 Toyota vehicles in total. Other classic models at the event included the Cressida, Crown, Corolla, with a classic Toyota Celica ST from 1977, 1985 Celica Supra and an Avon Celica cabriolet version headlining the show.

If you own a classic Toyota and you are interested in joining the TEC then you can get more details off their website which can be found at www.toyotaenthusiasts.com . However, if you are interested in a brand new Toyota car (Avensis, Aygo, iQ, Prius ,Yaris, RAV-4, etc) then of course we have Toyota contract hire prices on the site now.

Toyota solar energy

Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) and British Gas have just switched on a new giant solar energy system to start supplying power at Toyota’s Burnaston car plant in Derbyshire. The solar panels in the main array cost £10million and are all British manufactured. The new solar power system should be capable of producing 4.6 million kWh a year which is enough power to build around 7,000 cars.

The new initiative builds further on Toyota’s green credentials having recently been voted the World’s Greenest Brand in a survey by leading brand specialist, Interbrand. The car plant at Burnaston is also the production location for the Toyota Auris Hybrid which is the first volume production full hybrid car to be built in Europe.

The RAC Future Challenge

This year the RAC Future Challenge 2011 is taking place on Saturday the 5th November 2011 and is open to electric, hybrid, hydrogen and low-emission internal combustion engine cars and light-commercial vehicles. The challenge invites contenders to drive a 60-mile route from Brighton to London with the aim to use the least amount of energy.

This year the event organisers are using experts from Imperial College London to provide the expertise and neutral input to the event’s regulations, measurements and the results analysis. All vehicle entrants will be supplied with the necessary FCC data-loggers and sensors to ensure everyone has a fair chance to overcome any fitting problems and also to ensure all data recorded is accurate.

Last year’s car manufacturer entry list included prototypes, pre-production vehicles and current production cars from the likes of BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Skoda, Vauxhall and Nissan. For 2011 the total number of entries has been increased to 90 and because of the diversity of the vehicles involved, there are a range of awards in 20 different categories. The vehicle type energy categories have been revised to the following:

1. Pure Electric (EV)
2. Extended-Range/Plug-in Electric (E-REV, PHEV)
3. Hybrid (HV, HEV)
4. Hydrogen (HFEV)
5. Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) – up to 110g/km CO2 emission fuelled by any legal means

The ACEA economic report has announced that European total vehicle production in the EU rose by 15% in the first nine months of 2010, when compared to the same period in 2009. Car production rose by 13%, with vans expanding in all segments, in all three quarters as well.

The ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) was founded in 1991 and represents the interests of the sixteen European car, van, truck and bus manufacturers across Europe. The Association members include some of the major manufacturers, including the BMW Group, FIAT Group, Ford of Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group and Volvo Cars to name just a few.

These figures and other data can be found in the latest ACEA Economic Report published on the ACEA website.

Hyundai

When the Germans think of a quality car, Autobild, the leading German motoring magazine has found that only one name comes to mind and that’s Hyundai. They awarded Hyundai the honour of first-place in its annual Autobild Quality Report for 2010 eclipsing Toyota, BMW and Audi.

Autobild evaluates seven criteria, including feedback from 9,278 owners, manufacturer warranty provisioning, recall information and data from over 7.5 million vehicle inspections (from Germany’s Technische Uberwachung Verein report -TUV).  This accolade follows the Hyundai i30 being voted by Which? consumer guide magazine readers as Britains’ most reliable medium sized car. Hyundai contract hire prices on the i30 are available now.