- TOYOTA TO REDEFINE LARGE CAR MARKET IN AUSTRALIA
- NINE MONTHS TO BIRTH OF TOYOTA'S LARGE CAR
- NEW LARGE TOYOTA WINS SPACE RACE
- TOYOTA LARGE CAR ENGINEERED FOR AUSTRALIA
- "AUSTRALIANISATION" TAKES LARGE CAR TO NEW LEVELS
1. TOYOTA TO REDEFINE LARGE CAR MARKET IN AUSTRALIA
Toyota is to build a large car in Australia with components sourced from Australia, USA, South East Asia and Japan.
The yet-to-be-named Toyota will have body panels from Australia and America, glass and electrical components from Australia and South East Asia, engine and drive train from Japan, and Australian developed suspension package and componentry.
Most interior plastic parts and seats are made in Australia with some components sourced from the USA and Japan. Most seat fabric will be made in Australia with some fabric sourced from Japan.
Toyota Motor Corporation regards the large car program as a breakthrough in world production technique.
It could become the benchmark for future globalization plans. Space efficiency is an important component of the new car.
Toyota engineers have worked to have the car meet market expectations of spaciousness and comfort but to redefine external dimensions.
According to Toyota, the lines between the medium and upper medium segment where it is a major contender, and the large car market are becoming less defined.
A new contender that can further bridge the two segments has tested strongly as a requirement of Australian buyers.
The new car is based on Toyota's US-built Avalon. More than 500 design changes have been made to the vehicle to suit Australian conditions.
The new car will replace Toyota Corolla at Melbourne's Altona production line.
More than 24,000 of the new large car a year are expected to be built alongside the successful export-quality Toyota Camry.
The Toyota plant last year built 100,400 vehicles and Toyota regards 100,000 as a minimum production standard for economies of scale.
Major manufacturing efficiencies have been established for the production of the new large car.
Manufacturing equipment transplanted from Toyota's Kentucky factory has reduced tooling costs for the new model.
The time for integration of the vehicle into Toyota's Australian model line-up has been reduced by some 18 months.
The vehicle will be Toyota Australia's first entry into the large car market with a vehicle it has solely manufactured.
Toyota marketed a badge-engineered large car, the Lexcen, in the early 1990s.
"Toyota learned a lot from its Lexcen experience - both in manufacturing and marketing terms," Toyota senior executive vice-president John Conomos said.
"That knowledge established the ground rules from which we could launch this serious single company attack on one of the most entrenched market segments in Australia."
Toyota claimed market leadership for the first half of 1999 by taking the lead in no fewer than eight segments. It regards consistent segment leadership as the key to outright market domination.
2. NINE MONTHS TO BIRTH OF TOYOTA'S LARGE CAR
Car buyers will have their first chance to preview Toyota's new large car at this year's Sydney Motor Show.
Toyota will use the Show to gauge reaction to the class-challenging interior dimensions of the new car.
The Sydney Motor Show opens on October 15.
The first preview of the exterior is planned for the Melbourne Motor Show next March.
The car will launch in June 2000.
Engineering teams from three countries are working on the vehicle's development.
A 15,000km quality assurance drive around Australia is planned for late 1999.
The name of the new car will be announced in the second quarter of 2000.
According to Toyota, extensive market research had confirmed substantial acceptance of the size and specification package.
Many of the features in the car had been developed in response to consumer research.
"The way in which the car has been developed has given us an excellent and unusual opportunity to comprehensively determine owner requirements," Toyota senior executive vice-president John Conomos said.
"Our aim is for this new car to be the most sophisticated and most contemporary vehicle available in its locally manufactured category.
"It will bring levels of sophistication in ride, handling, and noise suppression that perhaps have not previously been achieved in its class.
Toyota plans its new large car will provide natural upward progression from its current Camry.
"It will fill a missing link in our industry leading model range," Mr Conomos said.
3. NEW LARGE TOYOTA WINS SPACE RACE
Toyota's locally manufactured large car, due for launch in 2000, is intended to have more front space than the traditional large sixes.
It is intended to have more front headroom and front legroom than Commodore or Falcon.
The new Toyota's overseas predecessor has an overall length of 4890mm (longer than Commodore) and the package efficiency advantage of front drive.
Toyota has made the conscious decision to maximise interior space gains for the driver and front passenger.
Rear legroom is similar to the traditional large six players.
With an average-sized driver at the wheel, the large Toyota is intended to have more rear legroom than its competitors.
4. TOYOTA LARGE CAR ENGINEERED FOR AUSTRALIA
Toyota Australia has spent two years engineering its new locally manufactured large car for Australia.
The new car is due for launch in mid-2000, a product of the shortest development cycle ever undertaken by Toyota in this country.
Forty engineers in Toyota Australia's product engineering division have made extensive changes to the vehicle's American-built forebear to add refinement and suit local requirements.
Toyota Australia engineers predict the local vehicle will be quieter inside than the vehicle on which it is based.
Local design items span the full gamut from the underbody and ABS system to the trip computer and the clock.
The Australian-built car will have a unique underbody, which combines experience and features from the US-built car and Australian manufactured Camry/Vienta V6.
The cabin floor and the seats are unique to Australia. These have been developed to suit local conditions and customer requirements.
There are no common components with the US model's front seats.
The rear seat shape has been designed for Australian needs, where large-six vehicles regularly carry five persons.
Safety features will include side airbags and front seatbelt pretensioners.
Both features will be firsts for a locally manufactured Toyota.
Local engineers have developed a unique suspension calibration to provide high levels of ride and handling, and an overall feeling of quality. In addition steering characteristics have also been developed to complement the suspension revisions.
Active safety features include Bosch anti-skid brakes.
The vehicle's Quad Cam V6 engine has been modified for local driving, with a new throttle body, exhaust system and electronic control unit.
Locally developed exterior features include the alloy wheels, wheel caps, front mask, grille, bumpers (both in profile and manufacturing method), mirrors and side protection moulding.
Inside, the new Australian-built large car will have a locally developed eight-function trip computer and speed alert.
An audio system design has been locally developed along with new centre console design, new rear seat arm rest and new door trims.
The body computer also has been locally developed.
It controls a number of interior features as well as the remote central locking function.
5. "AUSTRALIANISATION" TAKES LARGE CAR TO NEW LEVELS
Toyota Australia's large car development program has taken the vehicle to new levels in vehicle dynamics and NVH suppression.
Australian development of the car has broadened the model range to meet local market requirements.
The locally manufactured model will be offered in twice as many equipment levels as the US-built car.
Componentry will be sourced from several areas - locally developed, model-shared local, CKD (from Japan and USA), from TMC and from TMMNA in Kentucky.
Improved driving dynamics and driver/passenger satisfaction were major local design objectives.
Toyota's new large vehicle has been designed to accommodate a greater variety of road conditions and higher average speeds than its US cousin.
The body has been strengthened to suit local conditions and increase durability.
The Australian-built body will have significantly greater torsional rigidity than the US-built vehicle.
The large car's ride comfort package has been tailored to Australian tastes, with a well-controlled flat ride and improved steering feedback.
Local engineers developed all-new front seats to improve support and lateral hold.
The rear-seat was reshaped to accommodate three persons in comfort.
A low NVH rating was a key design objective to achieving a prestige-class package, but at a sub-prestige price.
The vehicle's NVH was benchmarked against the locally manufactured Vienta V6, regarded by many as one of the most refined vehicles manufactured in Australia.
The new LM vehicle has a Quad Cam V6 engine and electronically controlled automatic transmission, to minimise NVH at the source.
Wind and road noise have been reduced compared with the US-built car.
