A new concept at the show will be the FT-bh sedan. The model hints at a future four-door compact dedicated hybrid hatchback … maybe even the next-generation Toyota Prius? An initial sketch of the concept (shown above) shows an extreme wedge look and separated hood and front fender housings. The hood and grille seem to come to a point, and the headlights lay prostrated on top of the wheel housings. It looks like something straight out of “Tron: Evolution.”

Toyota says the model is 30% more aerodynamic and spews 50% less carbon dioxide than other subcompact vehicles on the road today.

Another new release for Geneva will be the FCV-R hydrogen concept. The vehicle, which looks pretty much like the NS4 concept, can accommodate four passengers and features Toyota’s latest generation of fuel-cell technology.

Despite the recent surge of interest in electric vehicles, Toyota is committed to a hydrogen future. It plans to have a practical and production-ready hydrogen vehicle for sale by 2015.

Both vehicles will be shown off to the public on March 6.

Japan’s largest auto maker is examining a number of options, including producing its Prius hybrid models in North America for the first time and boosting production of Lexus models in Canada, Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota Motor North America, told reporters Thursday in Toronto.

An investment at either Toyota plant in Cambridge, Ont., or Woodstock, Ont., would be a boost for the sector in Canada, which is facing the pressure of a rising Canadian dollar and whose leaders will be told by a consultant today that the industry’s competitive position here is deteriorating.

Using North American plants to assemble the Prius, which started with a sedan but now includes a small minivan, a so-called city car and plug-in electric models, is “almost like – to me – a no brainer,” Mr. Inaba said during a lunch at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. He said he’s pushing for a decision as soon as possible on whether to do that, and where.

Mr. Inaba is the second senior Toyota executive in recent months to point to increasing production of hybrid vehicles in North America as a tactic the company needs to adopt. Atsushi Niimi, Toyota’s executive vice-president and Mr. Inaba’s boss, told The Globe and Mail in Toyota City, Japan, in November that he believes it’s time for North American plants to build more hybrids.

Mr. Inaba said he’s open to the possibility of assembling Prius models in Canada. But industry experts believe it’s much more likely that Toyota will assemble the Prius at a U.S. location.

Lexus was the clear leader in the survey, which ranks brands according to the number of problems experienced by owners over the past 12 months, expressed as problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lexus scored 86 PP100, ahead of second-placed Porsche on 98. The study is based on the responses of more than 31,000 original owners of 2009 model year vehicles after three years of ownership.

Toyota brand tied for third with Cadillac on 104, with youth-focused subdivision Scion (111) finishing just ahead of Mercedes-Benz (112) in fifth. Scion and Mini enjoyed the greatest year-on-year improvements – jumping 55 and 60 PP100 respectively.

Ford, Hyundai and Honda were other notable brands to rank ahead of the 132 PP100 industry average.

“Here we grow again,” mused Princeton Mayor Bob Hurst Wednesday, praising the company for being a “great neighbor” after Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana President Norm Bafunno detailed the plans for production and job growth.

The local plant makes full-size Sequoia SUVs, the Sienna minivan previously manufactured in Kentucky, and the domestic version of the smaller Highlander SUV. The hybrid version now produced in Japan will roll off the assembly line in late 2013, along with export models designed for drivers in Australia and Russia.

Bafunno said production will increase by 50,000 vehicles, bringing annual production at the west plant, which makes the SUVs, to about 180,000 vehicles per year.

He said hiring begins late this summer and production, late next year. Toyota will add to its permanent workforce – currently at 4,800 – from the existing Aerotek Staffing Agency variable workforce pool, and new hires to the flexible workforce will be made through Aerotek.com.

The company added 160 permanent employees from the staffing agency hires last year, Bafunno noted.

Toyota will invest $400 million to expand capacity at its Princeton, Indiana, plant that already makes the mid-size light truck to produce an additional 50,000 units annually, the company said yesterday. The move, which includes production of the gasoline-electric version of the SUV, will add 400 jobs at the factory, Toyota said.

The Toyota Division posted January 2012 sales of 112,266 units, an increase of 9% over the same period last year.

The Lexus Division reported sales of 12,274 units, a decrease of 4.6% over the year-ago month.

For January 2012, Toyota Division passenger cars recorded sales of 67,602 units an increase of 20.1% over last January.

Toyota division light trucks posted sales of 44,664 units in January 2012, an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period prior year.

Lexus division reported passenger car sales of 6,069 units, an increase of 9.1% over the same period year-ago while Lexus light trucks recorded sales of 6,205 units in January 2012, down by 15% from last January.

For January 2012 Toyota Motor Sales posted sales of 16,065 hybrid vehicles, an increase of 19.8%.

Toyota Division posted sales of 14,102 hybrids, an increase of 15.7% for the month, while Lexus division reported sales 1,963 hybrids, a rise of 60.2% compared to the same period last year.

Toyota has been aiming for a comeback and had said in December that it plans to sell 8.48 million vehicles in 2012.

The Japanese automaker behind the Lexus luxury car and the Camry sedan sold 7.95 million vehicles in 2011, down 6 percent from 2010.

Even with the improved forecasts, Toyota is unlikely to be back as the world’s top automaker. Last year, General Motors Co regained that spot, selling 9.03 million vehicles, the crown it had for seven decades before losing it to Toyota in 2008.

Toyota finished fourth in 2011 with 7.9 million vehicles sold. Its sales were hurt last year because the March earthquake in Japan slowed its factories, and dealers ran short of cars to sell.

Auto industry analysts predict a tight race this year between GM, Volkswagen AG of Germany, Toyota and the joint venture between Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA.

In 2011, Volkswagen took second place with record global sales of 8.16 million, up 14 per cent from the year before. The French-Japanese alliance of Renault and Nissan was third, selling 8.03 million vehicles.

Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid and other ecological cars have been a hit with Japanese consumers despite a languishing auto market overall because of government-backed subsidies. The Prius was Japan’s top-selling vehicle in 2011 for the third straight year.

Toyota, which struggled from production interruptions last year caused by Japan’s tsunami and flooding in Thailand, raised its forecast for Japan sales to 1.63 million vehicles from an earlier 1.53 million. The latest forecast marks a 36 jump from the previous year.

Toyota has been aiming for a comeback and had said in December that it plans to sell 8.48 million vehicles in 2012.

The Japanese automaker behind the Lexus luxury car and the Camry sedan sold 7.95 million vehicles in 2011, down 6 per cent from 2010.

Even with the improved forecasts, Toyota is unlikely to be back as the world’s top automaker. Last year, General Motors regained that spot, selling 9.03 million vehicles, the crown it had for seven decades before losing it to Toyota in 2008.

Toyota finished fourth in 2011 with 7.9 million vehicles sold. Its sales were hurt last year because the March earthquake in Japan slowed its factories, and dealers ran short of cars to sell.

Auto industry analysts predict a tight race this year between GM, Volkswagen of Germany, Toyota and the joint venture between Nissan and Renault.

In 2011, Volkswagen took second place with record global sales of 8.16 million, up 14 per cent from the year before. The French-Japanese alliance of Renault and Nissan was third, selling 8.03 million vehicles.

Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid and other ecological cars have been a hit with Japanese consumers despite a languishing auto market overall because of government-backed subsidies. The Prius was Japan’s top-selling vehicle in 2011 for the third straight year.

Kiwi car sales rose by 5.3 per cent last year, with Toyota’s Corolla and Hilux taking two of the top spots.

General Motors took the top spot by selling just over 9 million cars and trucks across the globe, the Associated Press reports. Fast-growing Volkswagen had 8.2 million and Toyota, devastated by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March, sold 7.9 million.

The AP notes that GM had held the global sales crown for more than seven decades before losing it to Toyota as GM’s sales tanked while it headed toward financial ruin. In 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy protection, needing a U.S. government bailout to survive.

GM’s comeback has been powered by well-regarded models that sell around the world, like the Chevrolet Cruze. Not only did GM sell a lot of cars, it also made some good money doing it — in constrast to past year when big sales didn’t necessarily translate to healthy profits. The company reported net income of $7.1 billion for the first three quarters of last year. It reports the fourth quarter next month.

Toyota is aiming for a comeback this year and has predicted that it will sell 8.48 million vehicles in 2012.

Toyota Motor Corp.

Earlier the company had revealed that Aqua uses the same powertrain as the Prius sedan. It is priced at about ¥1.7 million ($22,000) in Japan, which is ¥300 thousand less than the current Prius in order to attract the entry-level, fuel-efficient car buyers. The automaker intends to sell 12,000 units of Aqua per month in Japan.

Toyota occupied the No.1 spot in hybrid offerings after introducing Prius in 1997. Since then, the automaker sold more than 3.4 million hybrid vehicles till date. It expects to launch as many as 10 more gasoline-electric models by 2015 and offer a fuel-sipping option across its entire line-up by 2020.

In May 2011, Toyota introduced Prius Alpha hatchback wagon, which is derived from the third generation Prius model, as Prius V (5-seater) in Japan. The vehicle is priced at ¥2.35 million ($29,000) and is equipped with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries like its predecessor.

Toyota plans to sell Prius V in North America in a year. It also plans to sell the 7-seater version of Prius Alpha in Europe as Prius Plus in mid-2012. The automaker intends to sell 2,000 units of Prius V per month in North America and 2,000 units of Prius Plus per month in Europe.

Toyota will also launch the plug-in version of Prius hybrid car next year that comes with an excellent mileage and affordable price. The plug-in-hybrid (PHV) vehicle boasts a mileage of 61.0 km per liter (143 miles per gallon) in combined EV and hybrid driving modes under Japanese test conditions. Meanwhile, the U.S. version of the Prius PHV will provide a mileage of 87 mpg.

Including subsidies for green vehicles, Prius PHV is priced at ¥3.2 million ($41,000) in Japan, $32,000 in the U.S. and €37,000 in Europe. This is ¥3.76 million lower than Nissan Motors’ (NSANY”>NSANY) Leaf electric car and cheaper than General Motor’s (GM) Volt PHV, priced at $41,000 (before subsidies).

As a result, Prius PHV will pose a significant threat to both GM and Nissan, who are trying very hard to lead in the hybrid vehicles (HV) market. Toyota plans to sell 35,000 to 40,000 units of Prius PHV per year in Japan and 60,000 units globally.

In this year, Toyota also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ford Motor Co. (F) on the equal product development collaboration in order to manufacture a gas-electric hybrid engine for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). It has also partnered with Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA”>TSLA) to collaborate on producing electric vehicles based on its small SUV RAV4.

Toyota is struggling with waning sales in the U.S., its most important market, due to production disruptions resulted from the twin disaster in Japan and severe floods in Thailand. It has already lost its No.1 position to GM and Ford in terms of sales.

However, the product launches will definitely help Toyota to maintain its top position in the HV market as well as lift its overall position from the backlash of recent mishaps.

Recently, Toyota revealed its target to achieve a 20% growth in global sales to 8.48 million vehicles in 2012 on the production of 8.65 million vehicles, up 24% from 6.97 million in 2011.

Toyota also stated that it expects to sell 8.95 million vehicles in 2013 by manufacturing 8.98 million vehicles. The estimated sales (excluding sales by group companies such as Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors) are higher than 8.43 million vehicles attained by the company in 2007.