Latest news with #Corollas
West Australian
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- West Australian
Toyota opens biggest car parts centre in southern hemisphere in Kewdale
Toyota has officially opened its $115 million parts and accessories centre — the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and among the most valuable industrial properties ever built in WA. The Kewdale facility is more than three times the size of its previous site, with a massive 22,000sqm workshop — enough to cover more than three soccer fields. In a sign of the Japanese multinational's confidence in WA, the facility services 550,000 Toyota vehicles on local roads, with ample capacity for expansion. The wholesale centre means Toyota drivers will likely no longer need to wait for spare parts from the east coast or overseas — delays that emerged during the COVID pandemic. Gary Nettle, executive director of Toyota WA's parts distribution, said the size and technology of the new Parts and Accessories Distributor Facility were unprecedented in the southern hemisphere. 'We have invested heavily in 'world's best' technical innovation, notably automation explicitly designed to optimise the flow of goods whilst minimising time and disruption,' Mr Nettle said. 'To put the size of this centre into perspective, you will better understand its scale when I tell you that this facility can house four A380 jets and accommodate the entire Optus Stadium and if we wanted to get real cosy we could get about 94,000 people in here.' Mr Nettle said the facility operates on the ADAPTO system — an automated storage and retrieval system developed with Toyota subsidiary Vanderlande. The system includes driverless vehicles and 44 robotic shuttles that collect and deliver parts to mechanics in another section. Shuttle traffic is software-controlled to maximise efficiency. The winding conveyor belt system spans more than 630 metres — the length of about 140 Corollas lined up bumper to bumper. While artificial intelligence is displacing jobs globally, Mr Nettle told last night's launch that the system would allow staff to focus on 'more complex tasks instead of repetitive ones'. He said early data indicated that the centre's rate of receiving inbound goods is about six times faster than at the previous facility, indicating dealerships will have to hold significantly lower stock holdings to cope with demand. The system involves seven inbound loading docks and a further 18 dedicated dispatch doors. The whole centre is powered by nearly 1000 solar panels behind a 400kW PV system, helping it achieve a 5.5 Green Star rating and a 94 per cent weighted recycling rate during construction. In a sign of WA's maturing industrial property sector, the racking and three-level mezzanine structure was designed, engineered and manufactured by Bassendean company APC. The new centre includes a Stan Perron training room, in honour of the late entrepreneur, who sold Toyota's commercial and passenger models as well as their parts and accessories from the late 1960s. The arrangement with Toyota operated for many decades with no written contract, instead relying on a handshake agreement.
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
‘Crime is planned from prison,' says former police minister Bheki Cele
Former Police Minister has disclosed that South Africa's violent crime is planned from within prisons by inmates serving life sentences. Image: X/@SizweMpofu-Walsh Former Police Minister Bheki Cele has made a shocking revelation, claiming that most of South Africa's violent crime is being planned and organised from behind bars by inmates serving life sentences. 'Most of the crime is planned from prison,' Cele said during an interview on the Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience (SMWX) podcast. 'The people that are doing life sentences, they run crime outside.' Cele, who served as Minister of Police from 2018 to 2024, said correctional facilities have become a place where criminal syndicates are coordinating illicit activities beyond prison walls. 'Correctional facilities themselves are, in some ways, reproducing crime,' he said. 'One day I was phoned by a guy in prison who refused to tell me who he was. He warned me that a chief was going to be killed in Ulundi. He gave me names, the lodge, and everything.' Cele said he passed the information to KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. 'When Mkhwanazi got there, he found exactly what the caller had described. That came from someone inside prison,' he said. Cele also said the Wellington Prison, Mthatha in the Eastern Cape is known as a planning centre for conflicts in the taxi industry. 'That's a big problem. The case of Thabo Bester was high-profile, but there are many like him. Not just escapees, people who are still inside, sending out plans,' he said. He added that addressing crime in South Africa requires more than just empowering the police. 'You can't just strengthen the police. You need to strengthen the entire criminal justice system,' Cele said. Cele, who served as National Commissioner of Police from 2009 to 2011 before being removed in 2012 over misconduct allegations, said crime statistics during his leadership were significantly lower. 'Go study the crime stats from 2009 to 2012. They came down. Not just by numbers, South Africans said they could sleep with their doors open,' he said. He credited the drop in crime to strategic collaboration during preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Cele said they created the Tactical Response Team, known as the 'AmaBherethe,' after a cash heist in Pretoria where two men and women in blue were killed. 'Police at the scene couldn't pursue suspects driving high-performance vehicles in their standard-issue Corollas,' Cele said. He said the TRT served as a buffer between regular police stations and elite units like the National Intervention Unit and the Special Task Force. 'We bought GTIs and BMWs for the unit. We strengthened the force. At the time, we had about 195,000 police officers for a population of 50 million,' Cele said. But after leaving office in 2012, Cele said many of these initiatives were dismantled. 'When I returned in 2018, South Africa had grown to 60 million people, but the police officers had declined to 184,000…We had lost 15,000 officers,' he said. He said after that, he then approached President Cyril Ramaphosa to fund the training of new officers in three cycles of 10,000 every year, which restored the police numbers to 2010 levels. Cele lamented the declining morale in the police force, adding that in a month during his tenure, about 312 officers resigned. 'I called some of them to ask why. One warrant officer told me, 'When my daughter was born, I was a warrant officer. She's a graduate now, and I'm still a warrant officer,'' Cele said. Cele said meaningful crime reduction will require more community engagement. 'I don't care how many police you put on the street, if communities aren't part of safety and security, we won't win,' he said. 'These criminals are sons and husbands of people who live in those communities.' He expressed concern over South Africa's rates of gender-based violence (GBV). 'In just three months, 10,000 women are raped. Half of them are raped in their own homes, by their brothers, stepfathers, or other family members,' Cele said. 'Where are the police when a sibling rapes a sibling?' Cele also blamed undocumented immigrants as a serious concern. 'The worst part is, when they commit crime, they are untraceable and can easily disappear. That poses a major challenge,' he said. He said the entire security cluster needs to be strengthened to address the scale and complexity of South Africa's crime crisis. 'There's still a lot of work to do,' he said. IOL News
Perth Now
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Toyota Corolla FX Edition celebrates the '80s with retro name and look
The Toyota Corolla FX Edition has been revealed in the US, and it's a flashback to the days of big hair and legwarmers. Toyota says the special edition Corolla 'ignites the spirit of the legendary FX16', but don't go expecting any extra performance because tThis is no GR Corolla hot hatch. It employs the same naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine as regular Corollas, delivering 126kW of power and 205Nm of torque to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). And yet despite this, Toyota is playing up the FX16 connection, releasing images of the two hatches side-by-side. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert In any case, don't expect the FX Edition to come here, as it's expected to be exclusive to the US. Just 1600 examples will be produced. For the record, the FX Edition rides on gloss white alloy wheels, which is perhaps the most 1980s-inspired touch on the vehicle, though at 18 inches these are considerably larger than the FX16's wheels. You can also get the FX Edition in Ice Cap paint, giving the car a particularly '80s monochromatic look. Other exterior finishes comprise Inferno (the bright orange hue seen here) and Blue Crush Metallic. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Toyota finishes off the FX Edition with a rear wing and a 'heritage-inspired rear badge'. Inside, there are black 'Sport Touring Seats' with suede inserts and orange stitching, which can also be found on the door panels, steering wheel and at the base of the shifter. Confusingly, Toyota already offers an FX version of the Corolla stateside, which slots in under the sporty looking XSE and is also said to be inspired by the Corolla FX16. Corolla FX sedan Credit: CarExpert This FX is offered exclusively as a sedan in the US, and uses the same powertrain as the FX Edition. It rides on 18-inch satin-black alloy wheels and features a black roof. Mechanical changes include lowered suspension and retuned electric power steering, neither of which are listed as upgrades for the FX Edition hatch. The FX nameplate hasn't always historically denoted a sporty Corolla variant, with regular hatchback versions of the E80 Corolla wearing the badge in some markets. Supplied Credit: CarExpert But the E80 FX16 is what Toyota in the US is nodding at with this latest Corolla variant. This was powered by a fuel-injected twin-cam, 16-valve 1.6-litre four-cylinder '4A-GE' engine producing 81kW of power, mated with a five-speed manual transmission. It also featured sportier suspension tuning and styling than lesser Corollas. Australia also received the E80 with this engine, in both hatchback and liftback ('Seca') body styles, and wearing the rather anodyne Twin Cam nameplate. In Japan, this hotter Corolla was called the FX-GT. The engine didn't make the FX16/Twin Cam/FX-GT the hottest small car out there, but it's regarded as one of the more exciting Corollas in the long history of the small Toyota, which will celebrate its 60th birthday next year. Toyota Corolla Twin Cam Credit: CarExpert MORE: Everything Toyota Corolla
7NEWS
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
Toyota Corolla FX Edition celebrates the '80s with retro name and look
The Toyota Corolla FX Edition has been revealed in the US, and it's a flashback to the days of big hair and legwarmers. Toyota says the special edition Corolla 'ignites the spirit of the legendary FX16', but don't go expecting any extra performance because tThis is no GR Corolla hot hatch. It employs the same naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine as regular Corollas, delivering 126kW of power and 205Nm of torque to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). And yet despite this, Toyota is playing up the FX16 connection, releasing images of the two hatches side-by-side. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. In any case, don't expect the FX Edition to come here, as it's expected to be exclusive to the US. Just 1600 examples will be produced. For the record, the FX Edition rides on gloss white alloy wheels, which is perhaps the most 1980s-inspired touch on the vehicle, though at 18 inches these are considerably larger than the FX16's wheels. You can also get the FX Edition in Ice Cap paint, giving the car a particularly '80s monochromatic look. Other exterior finishes comprise Inferno (the bright orange hue seen here) and Blue Crush Metallic. Toyota finishes off the FX Edition with a rear wing and a 'heritage-inspired rear badge'. Inside, there are black 'Sport Touring Seats' with suede inserts and orange stitching, which can also be found on the door panels, steering wheel and at the base of the shifter. Confusingly, Toyota already offers an FX version of the Corolla stateside, which slots in under the sporty looking XSE and is also said to be inspired by the Corolla FX16. This FX is offered exclusively as a sedan in the US, and uses the same powertrain as the FX Edition. It rides on 18-inch satin-black alloy wheels and features a black roof. Mechanical changes include lowered suspension and retuned electric power steering, neither of which are listed as upgrades for the FX Edition hatch. The FX nameplate hasn't always historically denoted a sporty Corolla variant, with regular hatchback versions of the E80 Corolla wearing the badge in some markets. But the E80 FX16 is what Toyota in the US is nodding at with this latest Corolla variant. This was powered by a fuel-injected twin-cam, 16-valve 1.6-litre four-cylinder '4A-GE' engine producing 81kW of power, mated with a five-speed manual transmission. It also featured sportier suspension tuning and styling than lesser Corollas. Australia also received the E80 with this engine, in both hatchback and liftback ('Seca') body styles, and wearing the rather anodyne Twin Cam nameplate. In Japan, this hotter Corolla was called the FX-GT. The engine didn't make the FX16/Twin Cam/FX-GT the hottest small car out there, but it's regarded as one of the more exciting Corollas in the long history of the small Toyota, which will celebrate its 60th birthday next year.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Here's How Much Cars Made in the US Cost Compared to Mexico, Canada and China
Although President Donald Trump recently announced measures that would soften the blow of tariffs on the auto industry, current tariffs of 25% on imported vehicles into the U.S. will continue. This will likely lead to inflated prices for buyers, as additional costs get tacked on to imported vehicles, which are typically much cheaper than those made in the U.S. Find Out: Read Next: Here's a look at how much cars made domestically typically cost compared to those manufactured abroad. A recent report from compared the average new car price by country of final assembly. Cars assembled in the U.S. have an average price of roughly $53,000, higher than any other country. Cars assembled in China have an average price of $51,000; cars assembled in Canada have an average price of $46,000; and cars assembled in Mexico have an average price of $40,000. 'The average price for all new cars is about $49,000, so even without tariffs, U.S.-built vehicles already carry a premium — and tariffs may only widen that gap,' said David Greene, an industry analyst with Greene noted that most budget-friendly cars on the market are manufactured outside the U.S. 'Only three sub-$30,00 models are currently built in the U.S. — the Honda Civic (Greensburg, Indiana), Toyota Corolla (Blue Springs, Mississippi), and the soon-to-be discontinued Chevrolet Malibu (Kansas City, Kansas) — although it's worth noting that almost half of Civics are imported from Canada, and about a quarter of Corollas come from Japan,' he said. 'With such a limited domestic footprint — and thin profit margins on these models — automakers may follow the same playbook they used during the chip shortage: Prioritize higher-margin trims and scale back or shelve affordable options.' Find Out: Greene does not believe that tariffs will lower the cost of cars made in the U.S. 'It's a nice idea in theory — build more cars here, control costs better and make new vehicles more affordable for Americans,' he said. 'But in reality? That's not how it works, at least not in the short term. 'Ramping up U.S. production means major investment — building new factories, hiring and training workers, and restructuring supply chains,' Greene continued. 'It takes time and money — and automakers aren't going to absorb those costs. They'll pass them down, which means prices are more likely to go up before they ever go down.' It seems inevitable that car prices will increase in the near future, so Greene recommended buying a new car ASAP. 'If car shoppers are even thinking about buying in the next few months, it's smart to act sooner rather than later,' he said. 'Most vehicles currently on dealer lots haven't been impacted by tariffs, and with around 78 days' worth of inventory available, shoppers still have a decent shot at finding what they want — at prices that haven't yet absorbed new import costs.' However, this window to buy existing new cars won't stay open for very long, Greene said. 'As tariff-impacted vehicles start to arrive, prices are likely to rise — even on cars assembled in the U.S.,' he said. 'That's because most vehicles built here still rely heavily on globally sourced parts. According to latest Industry Insights Report, more than half of U.S.-assembled vehicles include significant imported content, meaning cost increases won't be limited to foreign-made models.' More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban: Trump's Tariffs Will Affect This Class of People the Most How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region How To Get the Most Value From Your Costco Membership in 2025 12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines Sources 'Industry Insights Report (Q1 2025)' This article originally appeared on Here's How Much Cars Made in the US Cost Compared to Mexico, Canada and China Sign in to access your portfolio
