“Utilization of our factory is almost at 100% so we may have to think about expansion,” Mr. Sugata said.

He added, however, that TMP may seek more incentives from government to facilitate the expansion.

“The current difficulty is that manufacturing cost is higher compared to the cost of importing and there is inadequate government support,” Mr. Sugata claimed.

He added that government support is specifically needed to reduce production cost for parts.

Incentives may also facilitate the domestic production of a third model, in addition to the Innova and Vios models produced in the Sta. Rosa factory, Mr. Sugata said.

The third model will probably be from the smaller car or sports utility vehicle segment, for which there is high local demand, he added.

Mr. Sugata said the TMP is also currently in talks with the Trade department in drafting a “roadmap for the automotive industry.” He declined to elaborate, noting only that government is “very cooperative.”

The car firm yesterday launched launched the sixth generation of its Camry model, with Mr. Sugata baring a sales target of 100 units a month.

TMP cornered a 38.78% market share in the first quarter, industry data showed.

Selna was scheduled to hear arguments on his tentative order during an afternoon hearing on April 23.

Steve Berman, managing partner of Seattle’s Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, co-lead counsel in the consolidated class action, did not return a call for comment, and Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore declined to comment.

If made final, the ruling would amount to a big win for Toyota, which is seeking to gut the claims that consumers in California, Florida and New York are entitled to economic damages because the company made false and misleading statements about the safety of its vehicles under the laws of their respective states. The plaintiffs claim that, as a result of Toyota’s alleged undisclosed defects associated with sudden acceleration, their vehicles lost value.

Such economic-damages claims represent 200 of the 300 cases in the multidistrict litigation. The rest would be unaffected because they were filed on behalf of individuals who were injured or died in accidents attributed to sudden acceleration.

The consolidated class action, filed on behalf of 27 named plaintiffs, is scheduled for trial on July 31, 2013.

On March 12, Selna rejected Toyota’s move to dismiss 20 of the named plaintiffs on the basis that their claims should be arbitrated. As for the 15 named plaintiffs in California, Selna concluded that Toyota had too aggressively pursued its defense in court and in any event had waited too long to pursue arbitration. Regarding the remaining five plaintiffs – one in New York and four in Florida – Selna found that the dealerships, not Toyota, had the right to enforce arbitration provisions signed by consumers in their purchase and lease agreements.

Toyota has petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for permission to pursue an interlocutory appeal of that ruling.

Selna’s latest ruling addressed a separate motion to dismiss in which Toyota argued that nine of the 14 plaintiffs in New York and Florida have not alleged a product defect under the laws of those states. Toyota also moved to dismiss six plaintiffs in California who experienced no defect, citing an Oct. 18 ruling by California’s Second District Court of Appeal in American Honda Motor Co. v. Superior Court, which found that a consumer must have experienced a defect or be “substantially certain” that a defect could occur.

Selna did not address the California plaintiffs in his tentative order.

He dismissed four of the five claims brought by Florida named plaintiffs, concluding that they had not experienced an acceleration defect as required under Florida law. He upheld the claims of the fifth named plaintiff, whose vehicle allegedly experienced the defect. Also regarding that remaining Florida named plaintiff, Selna upheld consumer claims under Florida’s Unfair & Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

He dismissed the claims of a New York couple whose vehicle had not experienced an acceleration defect. He upheld another couple’s claims because they had sufficiently alleged a defect and the claims of a third named plaintiff who had traded in her Prius for a reduced amount.

In so doing, Selna found that “the New York Class Representatives may not maintain their claims against the Toyota Defendants in the absence of allegations regarding a manifested defect or the actual or attempted resale of a vehicle that reflects a loss in value as a result of the defect.”

Regarding those named plaintiffs in New York whose cases he upheld, Selna ruled that claims under the New York Consumer Protection Act could go forward as long as consumers purchased their vehicles after November 2006 under the statute of limitations.

He upheld various other claims in both states, including fraudulent concealment, as long as consumers had vehicles with actual acceleration defects.

The case is the second consolidated consumer class action in the sudden acceleration litigation. The first one, filed on behalf of a proposed nationwide class under California law, fell apart after Selna ruled on June 8 that consumers who lived in states other than California could not pursue economic damages under that state’s law. On Sept. 20, the plaintiffs steering committee filed an amended class action limiting the case to consumers in California, New York and Florida.

Other staff were given the news yesterday. In all 350 workers are being cut, the majority through compulsory redundancies.

The company has assessed more than 3,000 workers at the site and says it is firing those with the lowest ratings.

Ian Jones from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) says they are looking at making mass applications for wrongful dismissal to Fair Work Australia.

“We do not agree with the process and we’re certainly looking into how we can challenge some of the outcomes,” he told ABC local radio.

“We’ll be meeting with our shop stewards this morning. We’ll also be meeting with our lawyers this morning.

“I think that for Toyota to have handled it the way they have has been a certainly a reversal of the last two decades that I’ve worked with Toyota.”

Mr Jones also says shop stewards seem to have been unfairly targeted.

“We have roughly 50 per cent, I’m led to believe, of our shop stewards that have been compulsorily tagged,” he said.

“When you compare that against the totality of redundancies it represents about 10 per cent of the workforce.”

Toyota has denied the claims. The company says the AMWU agreed to the process for choosing which workers would go.

It also says the union itself wanted extra security guards on hand as people were told their fate.

The union says that is not the case.

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten says he is concerned by the way the company is sacking the workers.

“You can do these things in a dignified fashion that doesn’t make the news more palatable,” he said.

“But last night and tonight people will be at home their kids will be asking them mummy, daddy did you lose your job because you are a slacker and that is not the case,” he said.

The plant aimed for this partnership is the Sevelnord facility. President Nicolas Sarkozy didn’t mention if Toyota was the only potential Sevelnord partner in talks with Peugeot. This factory has 2,800 employees and manufactures Peugeot Expert, Citroen Jumpy and Fiat Scudo delivery vans. Since Fiat plans to withdraw from the venture in 2017, Peugeot needs another partner to take Fiat’s place.

“There’s nothing definitive with any new partner,” a Peugeot spokesman said on Wednesday, adding that the terms of Fiat’s withdrawal had yet to be finalized. Even if a new partner is found, the company still needs to make sure that the Sevelnord site is as competitive as possible alternatives.

The auto industry in Europe is fighting with excess capacity and cut-throat price competition, while overall demand sags under the weight of the debt crisis. All major car makers except Volkswagen lost money in the region last year. Peugeot and its partner GM are bracing for a fight with management as both car makers prepare to cut European capacity.

Additionally, TTC will add another 100 jobs over the next five years to further advance engine and transmission development for the North American market.

The majority of the new positions will be located at TTC’s two Michigan facilities in Ann Arbor and Saline in the areas of powertrain, mechanical design, electrical engineering, electronics and advanced research. The company’s plans are subject to approval of state and local incentives.

“The hiring of 150 new engineers this year at TTC gives us renewed confidence that our local operation has the experience and leadership to lead us into the future,” said Seiya Nakao, President of TTC.  “We are seeking talented, motivated individuals who thrive on challenges, who are team players and implement improvements in safety, quality and performance.”

“The continued growth of Toyota’s R&D operations here only underscores Michigan’s standing as the global center of excellence in automotive engineering, research and technology development,” stated Governor Rick Snyder. “This great news underscores the importance of our missions to meet with business leaders globally and, most of all, speaks to the high value of Michigan’s greatly improved business climate and the increased  focus on our state’s strong and talented workforce.”

“Toyota’s announcement to hire 150 new engineering and research staff by the end of the year is a boom to both Toyota and Michigan,” said Congressman John D. Dingell, who represents Ann Arbor and parts of Saline and Livonia.  “I commend Toyota, always a great corporate citizen, for its commitment to creating good-paying jobs right here in Southeast Michigan that will draw on the area’s wealth of technical expertise and engineering skill.  Toyota’s decision is proof positive that the American automobile market has rebounded and moreover that Michigan will continue to be a wonderful center for advanced manufacturing and superb engineering skills in the future.”

Speaking to reporters after flagging off Etios exports to South Africa for the first time, Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), said so far the Camry had been imported. “Toyota’s plan is to start assembling at its Bangalore facility from July and to launch in August. We are on schedule,” he said.

Despite an increase in duty, the company decided to go ahead with the plan, while acknowledging a price impact. Singh said, till now, around 300 units of Camry in a year were imported.

“Our focus in India will be semi-urban and rural markets, to support our growth,” he said. The company said the number of dealers would be increased from 173 to 225 by year-end.

Commenting on the localisation, Singh said, Etios localisation was currently 70 per cent and it would be increased to 90 per cent over the next two years. Etios is the largest localised product for Toyota in India. Localisation in other models, like Innova and Fortuner, is around 50 per cent.

On the investment plan, Singh said, as part of the phase-II expansion, the company was planning to add 100,000 units by 2013, with an investment of around Rs 898 crore. This would add to a total capacity of around 310,000 units a year in Toyota’s two plants in Bangalore, he added. It would also investing around Rs 500 crore in engine and transmission facility. “Engine plant would commence by the third quarter of this year and transmission by January-March 2013,” Singh noted.

Meanwhile, Toyota today flagged off its first export consignment of 247 units of the Etios series to the South African market via Ennore Port.

“We are planning to export 20,000 units annually only to South Africa, starting from this year. Our focus will be only South Africa, for now,” added Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director.

The export model of the Etios and Liva, in petrol variants, are built on the same platform as the original models, which are manufactured and sold in India. Etios is currently manufactured in Toyota’s second plant located in Bidadi industrial area on the outskirts of Bangalore and the export model will also be manufactured in the same plant.

Toyota’s Canadian manufacturing arm said Wednesday it will invest $80 million in its Woodstock assembly plant to ramp up production of its production of its RAV4 crossover vehicles.

The move will create about 400 new jobs between now and implantation in early 2013, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. said.

The Woodstock facility currently employs about 2,000 workers.

Ford of Canada is putting in a third shift at the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor starting in late April for production of the F-150 pick up truck, spokeswoman Lauren More said Wednesday.

The shift is expected to open up 100 positions that will likely be filled with people who have been laid off in Windsor.

Production is expected to increase by 40 per cent.

“It’s what we call a flexible manufacturing plant so it can quickly adjust to changes in the market and ramp up to higher levels of production quite quickly,” More said.

Sales for the F-series pickup have increased in Canada are up 25 per cent and in the U.S. 15 per cent.

Globally, sales are up 6 per cent from a year earlier, according to a February report by Scotiabank economist Carlos Gomes.

In the U.S., sales jumped above an annualized 14 million units last month for the first time since mid-2009. Sales in Canada are also about 15 per cent higher than last year.

“Stronger-than-expected passenger vehicle sales across North America have prompted automakers to schedule a further increase in vehicle assemblies, providing an additional boost to an economy that has been gaining momentum in recent months,” Gomes wrote in the report.

“We estimate that rising vehicle output will add nearly a percentage point to economic growth across North America in the opening months of 2012, helping sustain the improved economic momentum that has emerged in recent months.”

Toyota said it will ramp up production of its RAV4 to 200,000 vehicles at the plant by early 2013. The plant currently produces 150,000 vehicles annually.

Toyota faced production problems following last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan and massive flooding in Thailand that cut parts supplies and slowed down their global output, even in Canada.

But sales have begun to spring back recently, with Toyota Canada reporting sales rose 31 per cent year-over-year in February with 12,384 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold.

“We are optimistic that the market is coming back and we’re grateful for the strong sales of the RAV4 in the North American market, which has created this increase in production and jobs,” said TMMC chairman Ray Tanguay said.

Canada’s Minister of Industry Christian Paradis lauded the company, saying the move will help to strengthen Canada’s automotive industry.

Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid said the investment will result in more jobs for Ontario auto workers.

“This is great news for the auto industry in Ontario and shows the strength and diversity of the sector in the province. This expansion demonstrates that Ontario made the right decision by supporting the development of Toyota’s manufacturing presence here in Ontario.”

Toyota began its Canadian operations in 1986 in the southwestern Ontario city of Cambridge.

It currently employs about 6,500 Canadians at two plants in Cambridge and one in Woodstock, where the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Toyota RAV4, and the Lexus RX 350 vehicles are manufactured.

The new jobs announced Wednesday will help Toyota increase annual production to 200,000 vehicles a year by early 2013 at the Woodstock plant. Currently, the plant makes 150,000 RAV4 vehicles a year.

The new jobs will be added between now and early 2013, Toyota said.

The company is investing $80 million in the plant to augment production and employment, it said.

Toyota has faced production problems due to last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan and massive flooding in Thailand that cut parts supplies and slowed down their global output, even in Canada.

But sales have begun to spring back recently, with Toyota Canada reporting that sales rose 31 per cent year-over-year in February with 12,384 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold.

“We are optimistic that the market is coming back and we’re grateful for the strong sales of the RAV4 in the North American market, which has created this increase in production and jobs,” Ray Tanguay, chair of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, said in a news release.

Toyota currently employs 2,000 workers at its Woodstock plant and another 4,500 at two plants in Cambridge, where it produces the Corolla, Matrix and Lexus RX350. The new workers will boost the total workforce in Woodstock to about 2,400.

The new employees will work primarily as “production team members” in the welding, paint and assembly shops, and in support roles, Brian Krinock, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, said in a phone interview.

He was confident that Toyota will be able to find the skilled labour it needs from the surrounding area.

“It’s the reason we have been very successful in Canada,” he said. “The skill sets in the local population of the Kitchener, Cambridge, Woodstock and London areas have been great.”

The Woodstock plant, which opened in 2008, has been operating two shifts a day plus overtime, five days a week, and some shifts on Saturdays, he said.

Production is back to normal after the supply chain interruptions caused by the tsunami and earthquake in Japan last spring and the revival of the automobile market, Krinock said.

Toyoda’s comments come days after rival Nissan Motor announced the revival of the Datsun brand to target buyers in the lowest and sizeable end of developing markets, while a German magazine reported Volkswagen was also planning a similar move.

“We are a full-line car maker,” Toyoda told a small group of reporters in Tokyo.

“But to grow sustainably, we need to make a certain level of profit on cars, no matter how big or small they are. Does Toyota have the ability to make cars for 500,000 yen ($6,000) like Tata Motors ? I don’t think so,” he said, referring to the Indian automaker famed for developing the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, whose sales have fallen short of targets.

“When we think about what customers value in our cars, it’s reliability,” Toyoda said, adding that was evident in the popularity of used Toyota cars in many Asian countries.

“We won’t risk sacrificing quality simply to meet a certain price range.”

As demand becomes saturated in the developed world, global automakers are eyeing low-cost cars to drive sales growth, especially among first-time buyers moving up from motorcycles and used cars in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Toyota has taken small steps to target that base, starting with the made-for-India Etios model. But analysts have said the starting price, of just under 400,000 rupees ($7,800) for the lowest-grade hatchback version, was still too high to challenge cut-price stalwarts such as Maruti Suzuki.

BEING “NUMBER ONE”

Nissan, meanwhile, is counting on Datsun to tap a price range uncharted by global automakers as it aims to join Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen at the top of the sales charts with French partner Renault.

In contrast, Toyoda said he wanted Toyota to put its energy into developing products for the middle- to upper-class where its strengths lie, even if that meant playing in only a fraction of big, emerging markets.

“China has 1.4 billion people, but we don’t have to target all 1.4 billion,” he said. “We’ll target perhaps 200 or 300 million of that – but that’s about the size of the whole U.S. market. It’s huge.”

While GM and Volkswagen fight it out for sales dominance in China and the rest of the world, Toyoda said he wanted Toyota to strive for industry leadership in other ways, much like GM did by developing the industry as the biggest car maker over more than 70 years.

“Until we overtook them (in 2008), GM was number one, uninterrupted since the 1930s. During that time, it helped the industry develop and created a culture of cars. That’s the kind of company that deserves to be the industry leader,” he said.

“Going forward, I think there will be a lot of shuffling around among the top five or seven. But for the crown to really mean anything, I don’t want to use it as a motivational tool,” he said, repeating his warning that unchecked sales growth had played a role in Toyota’s quality crisis a few years ago.

Toyota fell to third place in global vehicles sales behind GM and Volkswagen last year, hit by the disruption that followed the earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Do you know a Farmington or Farmington Hills nonprofit that could expand its efforts with a new car ? Toyota launched 100 Cars for Good, a major national philanthropy program Monday in which the automaker is giving away 100 cars to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days. 

Winners will be selected each day through public voting on Facebook.

Jewish Family Services awarded a minivan

This is the second consecutive year for Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. 100 Cars for Good is the first Toyota initiative to engage the public in determining how its corporate philanthropic donations will be awarded.

A Farmington Hills Toyota dealership handed over the keys to a 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan to Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit on Oct. 5, 2011, as part of Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good initiative. Alex Goldberg, head of Jewish Family Service’s transportation department, took delivery at Serra Toyota Scion 35200 Grand River Ave., Farmington Hills.

Based in West Bloomfield, Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit serves more than 30,000 residents every year with outpatient mental health theapy, addiction and recovery services, crisis support, case management for seniors and families, domestic violence prevention and intervention and more. The charity helps people from all religions and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Here’s how the 100 Cars for Good program works:

• Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and non-profit Native American or Alaskan tribes with sovereignty can apply online at www.100carsforgood.com beginning on Monday, March 12.  This address will link to the 100 Cars for Good Facebook page.
• 100 Cars for Good applications will be open for two weeks (until Monday, March 26 at 11:59 am PST), or until 5,000 applications are received.  From this group, 500 finalists will be selected and certified by an independent panel of experts.  Finalists will be notified in April.
• Each finalist will then submit a short video and explanation on how a new vehicle would help further its work. Both will be featured on the 100 Cars for Good site.
• Public voting on the finalists will begin on Monday, May 14 at 100carsforgood.com with five organizations up for consideration each day for 100 consecutive days.
• The four runners up each day will each receive a $1,000 grant from Toyota.
• Finalists will be eligible for one of six Toyota models, including the Camry Hybrid, Highlander SUV, Prius v hybrid, Sienna minivan, Sienna Mobility or Tundra full-sized pickup.
• A six-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty will also be provided for each vehicle, compliments of Toyota Financial Services.