Sarawak, Malaysia begins testing first off-site green hydrogen refueling station On July 15, 2025, Sarawak, Malaysia began testing its first off-site green hydrogen refueling station at the second PETROS Multifuel Station in Batu Kawa, which offers petrol, EV charging, and hydrogen refueling. The hydrogen is produced at the Darul Hana plant. Full operations are expected soon, pending final approval from KPDN Kuala Lumpur. Led by SEDC Energy (SEDC...

News  Updated at: 2025/07/18

Toyota implements extended July winter shutdown at Zárate plant in Argentina On July 14, it was reported that Toyota implemented an extended winter shutdown at its Zárate plant in Argentina, lasting until July 29. While officially described as a technical halt to update robotization and automation processes, the move has sparked concern among workers, especially given the wage cuts linked to the “Non-Production Period.” Originally planned f...

News  Updated at: 2025/07/17

Fukusuke sells seat cover plant in Kumamoto Fukusuke Corporation (Fukusuke, Koto Ward, Tokyo) announced that it had spun off and sold its automotive seat cover factory in Kumamoto Prefecture to Toyota Tsusho. The Kumamoto Factory will be operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho and will be named Kumamoto Fukusuke. Fukusuke acquired the plant in Kumamoto in 2015 from Unitika Berkshire. The plant had been an integrated producer of sto...

News  Updated at: 2025/07/09

o the impact of rush buying and production adjustments, new car inventory has decreased by more than 16% from approximately 3 million units at the end of March to just under 2.5 million units at the end of May. Looking at inventory days by brand at the end of May, Japanese brands had low inventory: Toyota 21 days, Lexus 23 days, and Subaru 39 days. Among U.S. brands, Dodge's inventory was 43 days. On the other hand, VW, Infiniti, Ram, and Acura h...

News  Updated at: 2025/07/03

PPES BEV battery plant in Dalian breaks ground On June 26, the People’s Government of Dalian Municipality announced the groundbreaking of a BEV (battery electric vehicle) battery plant of Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc. (PPES), a joint venture (JV) between Toyota and Panasonic, in the Dalian Area‌ of China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone (DLFTZ). On March 24, the DLFTZ signed a framework agreement on a BEV power battery project with Da...

News  Updated at: 2025/07/01

GAC to launch hybrid vehicle GAC GS8 Dragon in Russia On June 23, GAC presented the full-size crossover, the GAC GS8 Dragon, with a hybrid power plant in Russia. It features a 2-liter gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a Toyota Hybrid System (THS) transmission. The maximum power of the hybrid GAC GS8 Dragon HEV is 427 hp.  It is based on the modern modular GPMA platform. The use of various grades of steel made it possible to achieve high ri...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/30

J.D. Power features production plant quality awards in 2025 U.S. study On June 26, J.D. Power released its annual 2025 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS), which records the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 10 key areas cited by 92,694 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. As part of its study, J.D. Power recognizes the top production plants of the year. Plant quality awards are based on defects and ...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/28

Toyota Auto Body to turn Inabe plant into dedicated plant for commercial vehicles On June 27, Toyota Auto Body announced that it will make its Inabe plant in Mie prefecture a dedicated plant for commercial vehicles as part of its efforts to strengthen its competitiveness in the commercial vehicle field. In conjunction with this move, the company has agreed with Toyota Motor to transfer the Alphard and Velfire minivans produced at the Inabe plant ...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/27

g by firstly expressing the companies’ intention to take full advantage of their production capacities in the U.S. The ratio of local production to the total U.S. unit sales is a little less than 20% for Mazda, and Jeffrey H. Guyton, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Mazda, commented about the plant in Alabama jointly operated with Toyota Motor Corporation by saying that, “It is possible to increase supply. Although it is a joint venture p...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/26

Chuo Spring to develop low-end ODDS stabilizer Chuo Spring Co., Ltd. (Chuo Spring) will increase the product lineup of its “ODDS (on-demand disconnectable stabilizer)”, which features both driving stability and rough-terrain performance. In addition to the high-end type used on the vehicle front side of Toyota Motor Corporation’s 250 Series Land Cruiser SUV, the company will develop a low-price type with a simpler structure. It aims to fost...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/26

Honda and GS Yuasa to delay battery plant construction by up to 3 years due to slowing EV adoption Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) and GS Yuasa Corporation (GS Yuasa) are reportedly delaying the construction of their electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the Kasahara Region, Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture, by up to three years. In addition to the slowdown in the spread of EVs, the discovery of buried cultural assets in the area has made it necess...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/23

Toyota adding battery pack lines at Ontario assembly plants for 2026 RAV4 Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) plans to install battery pack assembly lines at its assembly plants in Cambridge and Woodstock, Ontario, as it prepares the plants to build the next-generation RAV4 starting in early 2026. Crews at the two plants are currently repurposing floorspace to install the battery pack lines. Until now, the two Ontario plants have received co...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/21

Toyota Tsusho invests in Korean SK Group to ensure stable copper foil procurement Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho) announced on June 18 that it has signed an agreement with Korean SK Group’s SK nexilis Co., Ltd. on the transfer of SK nexilis Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.’s shares (SK nexilis Malaysia, SK nexilis’ subsidiary). Toyota Tsusho will invest USD 110 million (JPY 16 billion). The company intends to realize stable procurement of coppe...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/19

Aisin to mass produce “perovskite solar cells” from 2030 Aisin Corporation (Aisin) announced its plan to start trial sales of “perovskite solar cells”, which are expected to become next-generation solar cells, in 2028, and to start mass production in 2030. The company first aims to install a perovskite solar cell to large facilities such as plants and warehouses, and then to private houses and automotive bodies in the future. Compared to ...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/17

Hino to transfer Hamura plant to Toyota On June 10, Hino Motors announced that it has entered into an agreement with Toyota Motor to transfer Hino's Hamura Plant to Toyota. Hino also announced business integration of Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso and will facilitate optimal role-sharing between Toyota and Hino. Hino intends to increase operational efficiency and productivity by concentrating its management resources, including funds, on the manufactur...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/11

LG Energy Solution to manufacture both ESS, automotive batteries at Lansing plant LG Energy Solution will manufacture energy storage system (ESS) batteries at the plant it fully acquired from GM in Lansing, Michigan, according to sources in South Korea. The plant was the third factory of Ultium Cells, LG Energy Solution’s joint venture with GM, following the other two in Warren, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee. The Lansing plant was originally ...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/07

nalysis: BEA） New vehicle inventory have declined due to both the rush in demand and production adjustments. Total inventory at the beginning of May was 2.49 million units (down from 2.57 million in mid-April). As of the end of April, inventory days by brand showed that among Japanese automakers, Toyota 23 days, Lexus 20 days, Honda 39 days, and Subaru 31 days — all relatively low. In contrast, Acura had 58 days, Nissan 56 days, Mazda 42 days...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/04

Toyota Motor Europe unveils new Aygo X hybrid On June 2, Toyota Motor Europe announced that it has introduced the new Aygo X compact urban crossover with full hybrid technology to its segment for the first time. The vehicle, designed and produced in Europe, will go on sale in the first European markets at the end of 2025. The new Aygo X will fully replace the previous 1.0-litre gasoline model with a hybrid powertrain. Toyota has redesigned the ca...

News  Updated at: 2025/06/02

Toyota to start GR Corolla production at UK plant in 2026 On May 30, Toyota Motor Europe announced that production of the Toyota GR Corolla will begin at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) in 2026. TMUK was chosen as the new production site for the TGR (Toyota Gazoo Racing) vehicle to improve its global manufacturing and deliver cars to customers faster. The preparations to produce GR Corolla began in 2024, when the team at TMUK and key supplie...

News  Updated at: 2025/05/30

Toyota on track for its new U.S.-made EVs, battery production Toyota is staying on track with plans for EV production in the U.S. amid Trump trade tariffs and loss of EV incentives.  Production of two U.S.-made all-electric large crossover models is slated to begin in 2026, in Georgetown, Kentucky and Princeton, Indiana, though the names and other details have not been released. Company executives say they expect slow but steady growth in U.S. E...

News  Updated at: 2025/05/30