All-New MPV/LCV from PSA-Toyota, the continuation of the co-operation between the two companies since 2012

PSA Peugeot Citroën and Toyota Motor Europe (TME) reveal today the new Citroën SPACETOURER, Peugeot TRAVELLER, and Toyota PROACE. They will be available in MPV versions for private use and in shuttle versions for business use. Both companies therefore confirm the continuation of their co-operation agreement signed in 2012.

The three vehicles will be launched in the first half of 2016 and will be present on the respective stands of the three brands at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016.

“We are delighted to present today these three new vehicles, the result of the co-operation with Toyota Motor Europe. This agreement has enabled us to develop a new and efficient vehicle platform, offering our customers around the world modern products which are particularly competitive in their segment,” said Patrice Lucas, PSA Peugeot Citroën Head of Programme and Strategy.

“We’re very pleased that the collaboration we started in 2012 with PSA Peugeot Citroën is now delivering a brand new generation Toyota PROACE,” said TME President and CEO Johan van Zyl. “Both teams worked very hard together and at individual brand level and I am confident that our distinctive new van with all its variants will strengthen the Toyota light commercial vehicle offer in Europe. The new PROACE will complement the range of solid and durable vehicles customers are expecting from Toyota.”

Since 2013, the first Toyota Proace vehicles were based on the current generation Peugeot Expert and Citroën Dispatch vehicles. It was agreed at the start of the collaboration in 2012 that the companies would work together on next generation vehicles and that the collaboration would last beyond 2020.

The aim of the collaboration is for both companies to be able to offer a competitive product in the mid-size, light commercial vehicle, shuttle and Combi segments and benefit from development and production cost optimisation. The vehicles are produced at PSA Peugeot Citroën’s plant of Sevelnord, in Valenciennes, France.

Toyota Motor Europe participated in the development and industrial investment costs for the new vehicles.

The vehicles share all technical features, powertrains and equipment and propose a distinctive styling rooted in each of the brand’s design language.

Toyota is pleased to announce it has beaten the £1,000,000 mark for the NSPCC.

Toyota Manufacturing UK has reach its target of raising £1 million for the NSPCC, money which has been put to good use in projects supporting children in the regions around its factories in Derbyshire and North Wales.

Toyota launched its partnership with the charity in 2006, raising money through company and employee fund-raising initiatives. Since 2008, donations have been made by the Toyota Manufacturing UK Charitable Trust, taking the total raised so far to £1,015,286.

Toyota’s contribution has helped the NSPCC Schools Service reach more than 15,000 primary school children in Derbyshire and, since 2013, more than 1,650 in Flintshire. 

The money has helped the service meet its target of reaching 1.7 million children across the UK with advice and information on understanding abuse, giving them confidence and courage to speak out and seek help should they ever need it.

TMUK celebrated the efforts of its workforce in reaching the charity milestone with a children’s tea party-themed event attended by schoolchildren and ChildLine volunteers local to its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, was also among the guests. He said: “On behalf of the NSPCC, I’d like to thank the inspiring team at Toyota for their incredible support, which enables to make a real difference to the lives of local children. Like us, Toyota believes every childhood is worth fighting for. 

Their support will help us protect a generation of local children.”

Tony Walker, a trustee of the charitable trust, said: “The NSPCC does fantastic work to stop cruelty to children and making a real different to the lives of vulnerable young people in our local communities. 

It is with great pleasure that we are able to celebrate the result of nine years of fund-raising by TMUK members – the donation of more than £1 million to the NSPCC.”

UK MARCH SALES - TOYOTA - Near double digit growth, and great fleet sales keep Toyota flying.

• 30,210 Toyota cars sold in the first three months of 2015, a nine per cent increase on 2014’s performance
• Growth in volume well ahead of the overall UK market results
• Significant increase in fleet sales, led by Yaris and Auris hybrids
• New Aygo claims more than 10 per cent of the city car segment
• Prius+ and Verso push MPV sales higher

Cars sold, numbers crunched, results analysed: sales figures from the first three months of the year show Toyota sales on the up, rising at an even faster rate than the UK’s healthy new car market.

The total of 30,210 new Toyotas reaching Britain’s roads marks a nine per cent increase on the brand’s performance in the same period last year. The growth rate is well ahead of the total car market, which grew 6.8 per cent.

Increasingly strong fleet sales are a major contributor to Toyota’s success, led by the performance of Yaris Hybrid and the British-built Auris Hybrid models. More and more businesses and company car drivers are turning to Toyota hybrids to gain the significant cost benefits delivered by the technology’s low emissions, strong fuel economy, proven reliability and low maintenance costs. Toyota hybrids are also appreciated by business motorists for their smooth, refined and comfortable performance – particularly valued by those who regularly face long-distance journeys.

Yaris Hybrid’s fleet sales rose 18.2 per cent on 2014’s results and those for the Auris Hybrid hatch by 31.3 per cent. The Auris Hybrid Touring Sports wagon increased sales by almost a quarter. Overall, hybrid sales represent 24 per cent of total Toyota sales so far in 2015.

New Aygo has established itself as a top-three performer in the fiercely competitive city car market. With sales volume up by more than 37 per cent, it is currently claiming more than 10 per cent of overall segment sales, helped by its sharp styling and great choice of personalisation features.

Toyota’s MPV’s are also prospering, with Verso boosted by the introduction of its new 1.6 D-4D diesel engine and Prius+ reinvigorated by its styling and equipment revisions for 2015. As a consequence, Verso Q1 sales have climbed almost 17 per cent and Prius+ by more than 25 per cent.

UK SALES - TOYOTA - More growth with significant gains across the entire range.

• Hybrid models account for almost a quarter of all Toyotas sold in the UK in 2014
• Third consecutive year of growth for Toyota  group sales, reaching highest total since 2009
• British-built Auris a star performer, posting 17.8 per cent rise in sales
• New model increases Aygo performance by 26.8 per cent year on year, Yaris Hybrid up by 47.1 per cent
• Light commercials and Lexus also post significant gains

The successful progress of hybrid power to become a mainstream choice for Britain’s car buyers has helped Toyota post its third successive year of sales growth in the UK. At year-end, hybrids accounted for almost a quarter (23 per cent) of all Toyota cars sold.

Toyota has put hybrid at the heart of the market, introducing the technology in core models such as Auris and Yaris. In 2014 the British-built Auris range, including hybrid, marked a 17.8 per increase, while Yaris Hybrid – a unique proposition in the supermini segment – achieved a 47.1 rise in sales volume.

The introduction of new Aygo early in the year generated a huge response in UK showrooms, its wealth of personalisation possibilities helping it to a 26.8 per cent sales hike.

Toyota’s strategic addition of a new, low emissions, 2.0-litre D-4D diesel front-wheel drive version of RAV4 also proved a big success, helping drive fleet sales of the compact SUV up by 49 per cent.

Toyota group sales, including light commercials and Lexus, reached their highest level for five years, at 115,197 units. Hilux continues to go from strength to strength, helping Toyota achieve an increase of almost 20 per cent in its LCV sales.

Lexus sales rose to a seven year high, helped by a near-doubling of IS sales and an excellent early response to the launch of the new NX 300h crossover. 

Matt Harrison, Toyota President and Managing Director said: “The past year has been a good one for Toyota and the retail motor industry in the UK as a whole. The results we have achieved demonstrate that Toyota’s pioneering investment in hybrid technology is paying big dividends and continues to reshape public preferences and expectations about vehicle performance, efficiency and refinement.”

Toyota group sales 2014

Toyota cars (% increase on 2013)	94,013 (+6.1%)
Toyota LCVs	9,612 (+19.2%)
Lexus cars	11,572 (+28.4%)
Toyota group total	115,197 (+9.0%)

UK RECALL #23 - TOYOTA - Fuel may leak between injectors and return fuel pipe may wear out.

Vehicle Details
Reference :	R/2014/154
Manufacturer Ref :
Make:	TOYOTA
Model :	Proace
Launch Date :	09/12/2014
Numbers Involved :	131
Build Start Date :	24/04/2013
Build End Date :	10/04/2014

Recall Details
Concern :	FUEL MAY LEAK
Description :	The connector between injectors and return fuel pipe may wear out. If this happens fuel may leak and driver's will notice a fuel smell.
Remedial Action :	Replace pipe and connect with new sealant.
Vehicle Id :	YARXU9HM0DZ016367 to YARXU9HM0DZ063351 YARXT9HM0DZ016365 to YARXT9HM0DZ063341

Other Vehicles Affected (Click the vehicle to perform an extended search)

TOYOTA - PROACE TOYOTA - PROACE

Toyota makes life easier with Intelligent Clearance Sonar, I bet i will still hit something.

Imagine how much easier life would be if your car realised when you’re about to reverse into a high kerb and could intervene to prevent a costly scrape? Or if you could make your car transparent, so you have a complete view of your surroundings when edging back into a parking space? Toyota is ready to help with clever improvements to its parking support technology that it will be featuring on new models from next year.

Intelligent Clearance Sonar

Toyota’s Intelligent Clearance Sonar not only detects obstacles, it also helps prevent or mitigate collisions where the driver hits the accelerator by mistake – a familiar hazard when backing out of a parking space. Toyota has improved the system by adding extra sensors that can detect objects further away, increasing the breadth and depth of scanning.

It has also reworked the system’s control logic so that there is less risk of colliding with adjacent vehicles or obstacles, even when using the wrong pedal isn’t the issue, for example when driving slowly around a car park, or pulling out of a parking space.

Toyota’s Intelligent Park Assist system now uses ICS to prevent or reduce the consequences of collisions by deploying automated braking. It can also take the strain out of parking with a new multi-point turn support function that provides automatic steering control¹ in tight spaces where the driver has to make multiple turns of the wheel.

IPA’s benefits also include A partially automated¹ function to help drivers negotiate their way out of a parallel parking spot where there’s little room in front and behind the vehicle.

Panoramic View Monitor

Vehicles fitted with Toyota’s Panoramic View Monitor can already take advantage of an overhead view of their car, displayed on the navigation system’s screen. 

The view is being made even clearer with a new See-through View function. At the press of a button, the driver can flip between Moving View, which displays real-time video as if looking down on the vehicle, and See-through View, which gives a driver’s perspective of the car’s surroundings, as if the vehicle were transparent. Compared to Moving View, obstacles are shown larger, making them easier to spot and avoid.

Toyota’s improvements to its parking support technology are intended to make parking safer and reduce the high level of property damage accidents witnessed in car parks worldwide. 

This in turn supports its mission to help eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries. Toyota’s Integrated Safety Management Concept sets the direction for the development of both vehicles and safety technology. It covers all aspects of driving by integrating individual safety technologies and systems, rather than viewing them as units that function independently.

Toyota is committed to a wide range of initiatives that address traffic safety, from developing ever-safer vehicles and technologies to helping create a safer traffic environment and engaging in educational activities.

¹ The driver maintains control of the brakes, accelerator and gear shift.

SEPTEMBER SALES - TOYOTA - Hybrids soar for Toyota in September sales surge.

• Hybrids account for 22.5 per cent of all Toyota sales and almost a quarter of all Toyota fleet sales to date in 2014.
• British-built Auris Hybrid posts 20.6 per cent sales year-to-date increase, claiming almost half of all UK Auris sales
• New Aygo has immediate impact, with sales up almost 20 per cent in September
• RAV4 surges with new low CO₂ 2.0 D-4D two-wheel drive model helping boost fleet sales by 80 per cent

Britain’s drivers are switching on to hybrid in increasing numbers, with sales results for September and the first three quarters of 2014 showing Toyota’s technology attracting an ever greater proportion of customers. Figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders confirm that retail and business/fleet customers are recognising the real-world cost, performance and reliability benefits of hybrid and responding to Toyota’s unmatched choice of models.

The British-built Auris Hybrid – hatchback and Touring Sports wagon – remain the cornerstone of this success. Auris sales so far this year have leapt forward by more than 20 per cent, with hybrids accounting for almost half the total. In the supermini market, one in four of all UK Yaris sales is a hybrid. As a result, hybrid has accounted for 22.5 per cent of all Toyota sales to date in 2014.

The impact of hybrid is most marked in Toyota’s fleet sales performance, where volumes up to the end of September are almost 20 per cent up on the same period last year. Overall, Toyota sales have risen by 4.5 per cent.

New Aygo has arrived with bang, helping hike sales for the city car by almost 20 per cent in September compared to the same month in 2013, and by more than 15 per cent across the

RAV4 sales have also accelerated – up 80 per cent in fleet, 15 per cent overall – thanks in great part to the introduction of the new low CO₂ 2.0 D-4D two-wheel drive model.

Well, this is Vantastic, a new race series for load luggers ;-()

If it’s got an engine, you can race it. True to that principle, Toyota is lining up its new Proace van for a summer of high speed track action in the new Touring Van Championship.

Its three UK independent touring car teams have jumped at the chance to be the first to the grid in the new series, parading their race-prepped Proace machines in full team livery.

“The Touring Van Championship is just the kind of cost-conscious racing Britain needs,” said championship spokesman Gideon “Gig” Gleman. “The Proace carries up to 1.2 tonnes in its 7m³ loadspace, so everything you need to go racing can be carried in the back. No big trucks, no catering wagons, no fancy-dan hospitality units – if it won’t fit in the Proace then it’s not needed at the circuit.”

Eagle-eyed motorists may have spotted the racing Proace undergoing its intensive test programme. Its handling has been fine tuned through 24-hour lane-switching manoeuvres on the M62, while the sequence of traffic lights along the A4 west of London have helped hone its off-the-line acceleration. This month Proace will also undergo full race assessment at the Nürburgring, competing in the annual Lastkraftwagenpokal meeting around the legendary circuit’s Flair Loop.

Teams are confident Proace will be the van to beat when the championship bursts into action in July. In fact, negotiations are under way for it to join the Avensis touring cars in the British Touring Car Championship proper before the end of the season – the racing saloons will be rebranded Avansis in honour of the occasion.

“Volvo raced an estate car back in the ‘90s, so we see it as a natural evolution of touring cars to embrace vans as a holistic, 360-degree engagement with stakeholder behaviours. If you want inclusivity in British motorsport, count us in!” said Gleman.

“Toyota has a fine history of truck racing in America – even Kimi Räikkönen has been behind the wheel of a high-speed Tundra pick-up – so the sky’s the limit.”