Latest news with #AygoX
Motor 1
a day ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Toyota Math: 9 Million EVs Are Just as Polluting as 27 Million Hybrids
Akio Toyoda is a man who speaks his mind. He's been saying for years that forcing everyone to buy EVs isn't the way forward. Toyota's chairman is adamant that the transition can't be rushed and that going all-in on electric vehicles would have massive repercussions across the automotive industry. He believes millions of jobs throughout the supply chain could be at risk if the combustion engine is phased out too quickly. On the environmental front, Toyoda maintains that EVs are still much dirtier than hybrids. The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda claims the company has sold around 27 million hybrids since launching the first-generation Prius in 1997. According to him, those hybrids have had the same carbon footprint as nine million fully electric vehicles. Put another way, a single EV is as dirty as three hybrids. He argues that the gap is even wider when EVs are charged using electricity from thermal power stations reliant on fossil fuels, as is the case in Japan. 'But if we were to have made nine million BEVs in Japan, it would have actually increased the carbon emissions, not reduced them. That is because Japan relies on thermal power plants for electricity.' Proving Naysayers Wrong Toyota's reluctance to fully embrace EVs has sparked criticism, with some even questioning the company's future. You've probably seen comments predicting Toyota's downfall for lagging in the electric race, but that hasn't happened. In fact, the opposite is true. In 2024, Toyota was the world's largest automaker for the fifth year in a row. Sure, its EVs may trail the competition, but Toyota more than makes up for it with its hybrids and the remaining ICE models it still sells. The latest gas-powered car to receive the hybrid treatment is the Aygo X , the firm's smallest model outside of the kei cars, which are sold exclusively in Japan. Toyota claims the dinky hatchback has the lowest CO₂ footprint of any non-plug-in car on the market. Akio Toyoda once said EVs would never exceed a 30% market share and argued that the industry should focus on hybrids and synthetic fuels. Although it has admitted the Mirai has been a commercial failure , Toyota remains committed to hydrogen and sees potential in combining it with combustion engines. At the same time, it's helping BMW launch its first series-production hydrogen vehicle in 2028. Toyota Can Do It All As the automotive powerhouse it is, Toyota has the financial and industrial muscle to improve its hybrids while also developing better EVs. It has made the bZ more appealing and added the bZ Woodland and C-HR to its growing electric lineup. Its luxury brand Lexus recently launched the ES electric sedan and upgraded the RZ. According to a new Bloomberg report, two more EVs are coming to the U.S. by 2027. While the spotlight is on hybrids and EVs, Toyota hasn't forgotten the joy of driving. The company's CEO, Koji Sato, was recently quoted as saying, 'A car is not a car if it's not fun.' In the coming years, expect a new Supra, a revived Celica, and possibly a new MR2, judging by the mid-engine prototype shown earlier this year. Lexus, too, will launch a GT3-style road car, likely with a V-8. All told, Toyota appears to have just about every base covered. The impending return of the FJ Cruiser would further cement Toyota's reputation for offering one of the most comprehensive lineups in the automotive industry. New Toyota Models On The Way: Toyota Dealers Got a Sneak Peek at the New Celica This Might Be the New Toyota FJ Cruiser Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Source: Toyota Times Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Toyota & Lexus new cars for 2025 revealed including rugged RAV4 update, hybrid Aygo and sharp-looking ES saloon
'IF you want to catch a lot of fish, set out many fishing rods,' a wise man in the motor industry once said. Toyota is definitely following that advice. 5 Toyota will relaunch its baby Aygo X as a hybrid instead of pure-petrol at the end of the year Credit: Supplied 5 The C-HR+, looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid Credit: Toyota 5 The small pure battery Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly Credit: Supplied So any potential customer swimming into a Toyota dealership will find a huge range of cars ready to hook them. It's working. Sales of Toyota and its posher Lexus arm keep growing. A cascade of new cars and updates will likely keep the momentum going into next year. READ MORE IN MOTORS The RAV4 family SUV is a massive seller and returns next year as a plug-in hybrid only. It should be economical when running on petrol alone. But if you can find somewhere to plug in, the electric range is now a very handy 62 milles. The angular new body has a proper rugged look to it, standing out from the crop of softy crossovers it competes against. Toyota keeps driving down the cost of hybrids. Most read in Motors At the end of the year it will relaunch its baby That will have the lowest consumption and CO2 rating of any car without a plug. Toyota offers $25k discount off brand new model until June 2 – but the rebate depends on where shoppers live So the hybrid system is still a massive part of Toyota's success. When hybrid arrived here in the Prius at the turn of the millennium, it was a minority sport. Gradually it went mainstream, spreading across nearly all Toyota and Lexus models. So much so that the company took flak for not jumping from there on to the full-electric car bandwagon. Now that caution looks wise. The speed of changeover to EVs is softening, and the legal push to ban hybrids is paused five years to 2035. Shifting predictions for EVs are affecting Toyota-Lexus too. 5 For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover Credit: Supplied For some years, the plan was to build standalone electric cars, wholly different from the hybrids. But that's going to change. Andrea Carlucci, European marketing boss, told me the plan now is to build cars that you can buy as either full-electric or hybrid. Selling completely separate hybrid and EV models, he says, 'causes a complexity challenge', confusing buyers and choking dealerships. 'We should simplify the number of silhouettes.' So Lexus is launching its sharp-looking new luxury saloon, the ES, in both a hybrid and a 330-mile electric. In the UK the plan is we'll get the electric only, but no doubt that could alter if the politics of EVs change again. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover Inside, it's luxurious but with a clean Japanese-garden feel. The door trim looks like back-illuminated bamboo. But despite the new plan for dual-powertrain cars, there are still a bunch of pure battery cars in the launch phase. The small one is the Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly. It'll be followed by the C-HR+, which looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid. All those two share is a general theme: both are compact coupe-crossovers. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover. That's spring next year. The all-electric Lexus RZ gets an update next year, including steer-by-wire using an aircraft-style yoke instead of a steering wheel, plus fake 'gearbox' effects to make driving a single-speed EV feel more interesting. More like a petrol car, in other words. 5 The RAV4 family SUV is a massive seller and returns next year as a plug-in hybrid only Credit: Supplied Ten things YOU should know as a car owner To help you feel more confident as a car owner, here are ten things you should be familiar with about your vehicle: When is your MOT due? When is your car tax due? Find out here Is it illegal to drive barefoot? What do Is it illegal to drive without road tax? Can you be fined for breaking the highway code? How to What does Is it illegal to
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Toyota & Lexus new cars for 2025 revealed including rugged RAV4 update, hybrid Aygo and sharp-looking ES saloon
Sales of Toyota and its posher Lexus arm keep growing TOYS R US Toyota & Lexus new cars for 2025 revealed including rugged RAV4 update, hybrid Aygo and sharp-looking ES saloon Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 'IF you want to catch a lot of fish, set out many fishing rods,' a wise man in the motor industry once said. Toyota is definitely following that advice. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Toyota will relaunch its baby Aygo X as a hybrid instead of pure-petrol at the end of the year Credit: Supplied 5 The C-HR+, looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid Credit: Toyota 5 The small pure battery Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly Credit: Supplied So any potential customer swimming into a Toyota dealership will find a huge range of cars ready to hook them. It's working. Sales of Toyota and its posher Lexus arm keep growing. A cascade of new cars and updates will likely keep the momentum going into next year. The RAV4 family SUV is a massive seller and returns next year as a plug-in hybrid only. It should be economical when running on petrol alone. But if you can find somewhere to plug in, the electric range is now a very handy 62 milles. The angular new body has a proper rugged look to it, standing out from the crop of softy crossovers it competes against. Toyota keeps driving down the cost of hybrids. At the end of the year it will relaunch its baby Aygo X as a hybrid instead of pure-petrol. That will have the lowest consumption and CO2 rating of any car without a plug. Toyota offers $25k discount off brand new model until June 2 – but the rebate depends on where shoppers live So the hybrid system is still a massive part of Toyota's success. When hybrid arrived here in the Prius at the turn of the millennium, it was a minority sport. Gradually it went mainstream, spreading across nearly all Toyota and Lexus models. So much so that the company took flak for not jumping from there on to the full-electric car bandwagon. Now that caution looks wise. The speed of changeover to EVs is softening, and the legal push to ban hybrids is paused five years to 2035. Shifting predictions for EVs are affecting Toyota-Lexus too. 5 For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover Credit: Supplied For some years, the plan was to build standalone electric cars, wholly different from the hybrids. But that's going to change. Andrea Carlucci, European marketing boss, told me the plan now is to build cars that you can buy as either full-electric or hybrid. Selling completely separate hybrid and EV models, he says, 'causes a complexity challenge', confusing buyers and choking dealerships. 'We should simplify the number of silhouettes.' So Lexus is launching its sharp-looking new luxury saloon, the ES, in both a hybrid and a 330-mile electric. In the UK the plan is we'll get the electric only, but no doubt that could alter if the politics of EVs change again. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover Inside, it's luxurious but with a clean Japanese-garden feel. The door trim looks like back-illuminated bamboo. But despite the new plan for dual-powertrain cars, there are still a bunch of pure battery cars in the launch phase. The small one is the Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly. It'll be followed by the C-HR+, which looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid. All those two share is a general theme: both are compact coupe-crossovers. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover. That's spring next year. The all-electric Lexus RZ gets an update next year, including steer-by-wire using an aircraft-style yoke instead of a steering wheel, plus fake 'gearbox' effects to make driving a single-speed EV feel more interesting. More like a petrol car, in other words.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Toyota & Lexus new cars for 2025 revealed including rugged RAV4 update, hybrid Aygo and sharp-looking ES saloon
'IF you want to catch a lot of fish, set out many fishing rods,' a wise man in the motor industry once said. Toyota is definitely following that advice. 5 So any potential customer swimming into a Toyota dealership will find a huge range of cars ready to hook them. It's working. Sales of Toyota and its posher Lexus arm keep growing. A cascade of new cars and updates will likely keep the momentum going into next year. The RAV4 family SUV is a massive seller and returns next year as a plug-in hybrid only. It should be economical when running on petrol alone. But if you can find somewhere to plug in, the electric range is now a very handy 62 milles. The angular new body has a proper rugged look to it, standing out from the crop of softy crossovers it competes against. Toyota keeps driving down the cost of hybrids. At the end of the year it will relaunch its baby Aygo X as a hybrid instead of pure-petrol. That will have the lowest consumption and CO2 rating of any car without a plug. Toyota offers $25k discount off brand new model until June 2 – but the rebate depends on where shoppers live So the hybrid system is still a massive part of Toyota's success. When hybrid arrived here in the Prius at the turn of the millennium, it was a minority sport. Gradually it went mainstream, spreading across nearly all Toyota and Lexus models. So much so that the company took flak for not jumping from there on to the full-electric car bandwagon. Now that caution looks wise. The speed of changeover to EVs is softening, and the legal push to ban hybrids is paused five years to 2035. Shifting predictions for EVs are affecting Toyota-Lexus too. 5 For some years, the plan was to build standalone electric cars, wholly different from the hybrids. But that's going to change. Andrea Carlucci, European marketing boss, told me the plan now is to build cars that you can buy as either full-electric or hybrid. Selling completely separate hybrid and EV models, he says, 'causes a complexity challenge', confusing buyers and choking dealerships. 'We should simplify the number of silhouettes.' So Lexus is launching its sharp-looking new luxury saloon, the ES, in both a hybrid and a 330-mile electric. In the UK the plan is we'll get the electric only, but no doubt that could alter if the politics of EVs change again. Inside, it's luxurious but with a clean Japanese-garden feel. The door trim looks like back-illuminated bamboo. But despite the new plan for dual-powertrain cars, there are still a bunch of pure battery cars in the launch phase. The small one is the Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly. It'll be followed by the C-HR+, which looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid. All those two share is a general theme: both are compact coupe-crossovers. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover. That's spring next year. The all-electric Lexus RZ gets an update next year, including steer-by-wire using an aircraft-style yoke instead of a steering wheel, plus fake 'gearbox' effects to make driving a single-speed EV feel more interesting. More like a petrol car, in other words.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New-look Toyota Aygo X gains 74mpg hybrid; drops manual
Toyota has given the Aygo X an aggressive new look and a hybrid powertrain that is claimed to emit the least CO2 of any non-plug-in car in Europe. The brand's smallest and most affordable car has adopted the same 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that is used in the larger Yaris, sending up to 114bhp through the front wheels. This is enough to send the Aygo X from 0-62mph in less than 10sec – a significant improvement on the previous 14.9sec. And, product manager Cesar Romero told Autocar, it will yield fuel efficiency in excess of 74mpg, pending official WLTP testing. The existing 71bhp 1.0-litre three-pot, which traces its lineage back to the original Aygo of two decades ago, is being removed from the line-up, and the option of a manual gearbox goes with it; the Aygo X is now fitted with the Yaris's CVT-like epicyclic automatic as standard. In addition to the much-improved performance of the hybrid, two key motivators for the older lump's removal from the line-up are the UK's zero-emission vehicle mandate and fleet CO2 emissions targets. The ZEV mandate contains a provision that allows car manufacturers to convert reductions in their total CO2 outputs into de facto 'sales' of electric cars, giving them extra flexibility to meet EV sales targets. Every 167g/km of CO2 cut from a firm's total output in any given year can be converted into one ZEV 'sale', meaning they have to sell one less electric car to meet compliance targets – or they can sell an extra petrol, diesel or hybrid car within their limit. This is particularly relevant for the Aygo. It is one of Toyota's best-selling models in the UK, and the new hybrid system emits significantly less CO2 than the previous petrol engine. It's rated at 86g/km, a reduction of 23g. For reference, the rival MG 3 Hybrid+ emits 100g/km. Autocar understands that Toyota sold some 14,000 examples of the city car in the UK last year. Had those all been the new hybrid, Toyota would have been able to sell in excess of 2000 additional ICE cars while remaining within its limit. Separately from the ZEV mandate, such a significant reduction would have given Toyota crucial leeway in its fleet emissions targets: it would have offset the total output of nearly 1600 GR Yarises (rated at 215g/km) or 1400 Land Cruisers (240g/km). The uprated powertrain will, however, bring an increase in cost. Toyota has yet to confirm numbers, but Romero said: "What we're targeting is, especially on a monthly payment, the total cost of ownership. Fuel consumption of the vehicle will be much lower than for the current car, thanks to the hybrid powertrain. We expect the step [in overall costs] not to be so big." For reference, the current pure-petrol Aygo X starts at £16,485, while the Yaris opens at £23,445. Inside, the new Aygo X features a series of subtle changes. The outgoing car's analogue speedometer and rev counter are swapped for a small digital instrument screen, and there is now a pair of USB-C ports below the climate control panel. An infrared sensor is now mounted on the steering rack (for the EU-mandated driver attention monitoring system) and there are updated buttons on the steering wheel for the speed limit-warning and lane-keeping systems. Toyota has also added more sound deadening around the dashboard and under the bonnet, and the exhaust has been reworked to improve refinement. Higher trim levels will get yet more soundproofing and thicker window glass. The first examples of the new Aygo X are due in the UK early next year. The new GR Sport trim (pictured above) aims to imbue the sensible Aygo X with more dynamic appeal, bringing with it a stiffer chassis and quicker steering. A full-fat GR model isn't planned, however; Toyota says the new hybrid powertrain's 114bhp – yielding a power-to-weight ratio similar to that of the old VW Up GTI and Fiat Panda 100HP – is sufficient to make it fun to drive. ]]>
