August 11, 2008 - Torrance, CA - The 2009 Toyota Venza, scheduled to go on sale later this year, is the first example of Toyota’s new direction in passenger car design combining elegance, innovation, comfort and utility.

“We wanted to create something entirely different,” said Kevin Hunter, president of Toyota’s Calty Design Research in Newport Beach, Calif., and Ann Arbor, Mich. “Not an SUV, not a wagon, not a coupe and not a sedan. We aimed for a more road-focused vehicle and sporty direction.”

Venza is based on the FT-SX concept vehicle that debuted at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show. With an overwhelmingly positive response to the show vehicle, Toyota decided to develop Venza with a distinctly American plan.

Toyota’s U.S. design and engineering teams worked together to bring this bold design to production. It was one of the first times an American styling group created an overall design concept that engineers would follow for development. Venza will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Ky., home of the Camry, Solara and Avalon. More than 70 percent of its components will come from North American suppliers.

A new genre in personal transportation, Venza incorporates SUV utility and roominess, while maintaining passenger car essentials, such as ease of ingress/egress, performance, a lower, sleek side profile with aerodynamic lines, and unrivaled interior features to deliver optimal comfort.

“We used Toyota’s design philosophy, ‘Vibrant Clarity’ to create a more exciting drive for the customer while still maintaining its high functionality,” explained Hunter.

Exterior Design Features
The exterior styling was directed by Calty Project Chief Designer, Ian Cartabiano, in Newport Beach. From a design perspective, Venza achieves aerodynamic sculpted lines that not only look elegant, but help to increase fuel economy by reducing wind resistance. Freeform geometrics define the integration of fluid surfaces defined by smooth lines, which promote even airflow and reduce turbulence. Venza’s 20-inch wheels, stylish backlight and integrated aero spoiler make a bold, sporty statement.

“The overall stance of the vehicle is very strong, with the wheels placed out to make it look sure-footed and glued to the ground,” said Cartabiano.

Interior Design Features
Venza’s impressive “look-at-me” exterior styling leads to a thoughtful interior with surprising roominess, comfort and utility. Integral to the vehicle’s design was the idea to make the journey as rewarding as the destination. Interior features make the cabin seem spacious and comfortable with plenty of storage. Calty Ann Arbor’s Project Chief Designer, Ben Jimenez, integrated key design features such as a floating concept of the instrument cluster to create a 60/60 center dashboard.

“Most car interiors are like dual cockpits, where both driver and front passengers feel as if they only have access to 40 percent of the available space,” Jimenez said.

“The flow of Venza’s center console is a bit of an optical illusion,” he continued. “Both driver and passenger will feel as if 60 percent of the space is in their personal zone.”

Available in front-and all-wheel drive, Venza will be powered by a choice of engines – a V6 or an all-new four-cylinder. Both engines will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Twenty-inch wheels will only be available on V6 models.

Source / Rest of Story: Pressroom Toyota

Tokyo - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced operating results for the six months ended September 30, 2007.On a consolidated basis, net revenues for the first half of the fiscal year totaled 13.01 trillion yen, an increase of 13.4 percent compared to the same period last fiscal year. Operating income increased 16.3 percent to 1.27 trillion yen, while income before income taxes, minority interest and equity in earnings of affiliated companies was 1.36 trillion yen. Net income increased 21.3 percent to 942.4 billion yen.

Positive contributions to operating income totaled 330.0 billion yen, consisting of 150.0 billion yen from changes in foreign exchange rates, 130.0 billion yen from marketing efforts and 50.0 billion yen from cost reduction efforts. Negative factors totaled 151.3 billion yen.

TMC also announced an interim cash dividend of 65 yen per share for the first half of the fiscal year, an increase of 15 yen per share compared with the same period last fiscal year.

Commenting on the results, TMC Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita said, “For this period, we posted record results in both revenues and profits. We believe our efforts to build a globally balanced operational foundation contributed to these results. Net income has increased by nearly 70 percent over the last two years, due to a substantial increase in earnings by companies accounted for under the equity method, as well as increase in operating income.”

Consolidated vehicle sales for this period reached a record high of 4.301 million units, an increase of 156 thousand units over the same period last fiscal year.

In Japan, vehicle sales decreased by 67 thousand units, to 1.006 million units. Operating income increased by 88.9 billion yen, to 773.3 billion yen, mainly due to improvements in the model mix of domestic and export sales, including strong sales of the Lexus LS models.

Vehicle sales in North America totaled 1.497 million units, an increase of 33 thousand units, due to steady sales including the redesigned Tundra and the Prius. Operating income increased by 3.6 billion yen, to 254.1 billion yen.

In Europe, vehicle sales increased by 46 thousand units, to 635 thousand units, due to strong sales of the redesigned Corolla and the Auris which has been manufactured locally since early 2007. Operating income increased by 2.3 billion yen, to 68.3 billion yen. Strong Russian sales of Lexus models, the Camry and the Corolla contributed to this result.

Sales in Asia increased by 70 thousand units, to 452 thousand units. Operating income increased by 55.4 billion yen, to 116.7 billion yen, mainly due to brisk sales recovery in the Asian markets including Indonesia. Our consolidated subsidiaries in China also made a substantial contribution to the results, due to strong sales of Lexus models.

In other regions, including Central and South America, Oceania and Africa, vehicle sales increased to 711 thousand units, an increase of 74 thousand units, due to steady sales of the IMV series and the redesigned Camry. Operating income increased by 35.6 billion yen, to 71.7 billion yen.

TMC estimates that consolidated vehicle sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 will be 8.93 million units, which is an upward revision from TMC’s initial forecast of 8.89 million units announced in May 2007. Additionally, consolidated net revenues were revised to 25.5 trillion yen (from 25.0 trillion yen), operating income to 2.30 trillion yen (from 2.25 trillion yen) and net income to 1.70 trillion yen (from 1.65 trillion yen).

Commenting on the outlook for consolidated profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, Kinoshita said, “We aim to achieve higher levels of revenues and profits through further increase of vehicle sales and cost reductions.”

Source: Toyota Pressroom