Toyota Celebrates 10-year Partnership with Habitat for Humanity

Toyota Motor North America Research & Development (TMNA R&D) is doubling its impact with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley (Habitat Huron Valley) by providing full house renovation funding for two houses, totaling $80,000, for two Ypsilanti single moms. More than 300 volunteers this year will help renovate the two homes in honor of the 10-year partnership between the two.
 
“The continued commitment of Toyota to help renovate homes is invaluable in our work toward creating affordable homeownership in Washtenaw County,” said Sarah Stanton, Executive Director of Habitat Huron Valley. “Toyota’s investment in our organization has made a tremendous local impact on our communities. Toyota’s strong support has helped us grow from building a handful of houses 30 years ago to renovating 19 houses and providing home improvements to an additional 1,000 existing homeowners this year.”
 
Since 2007, Toyota Motor North America Research & Development  has helped build or renovate 11 homes in Ypsilanti, Mich. They have donated more than $386,800 and have given more than 17,000 employee volunteer hours with Habitat Huron Valley. This year, TMNA R&D doubled its impact with more than 300 employees volunteering for more than 1,800 hours at the houses.
Additionally, Toyota Motor North America Research & Development  has also provided a representative to serve on the Habitat Huron Valley Board of Directors and additional Habitat committees, such as the Family Selection Committee, for the past 5 years.
 
“Toyota and Habitat Huron Valley have strengthened bonds between co-workers, made lasting friendships and picked up a new skill or two on build days,” said Charan Lota, Executive Manager Toyota Motor North America R&D and Habitat Huron Valley Board Member. “We look forward to continuing this relationship for years to come. Thank you to Habitat Huron Valley for the opportunity to make a difference. We value our strong partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley and nationally.”
 
In celebration of Toyota Motor North America Research & Development  40th Anniversary here in Michigan,  they are sponsoring the future homes of two single moms, Adriana Pence and Tiffany Cole. Pence and 6-year-old daughter Ysela moved to Michigan in 2013. Pence is employed by the University of Michigan and loves spending time swimming, coloring and playing dolls with Ysela. Cole is mom to 1-year-old Jeremiah and currently expecting a daughter due this month. Like all Habitat homeowners, Pence and Cole are each required to complete 250 ‘sweat equity’ hours, attend financial management and home maintenance classes and provide a $1,000 down payment on their homes.
 
With the help of full-house sponsors, such as Toyota Motor North America Research & Development, Habitat Huron Valley is hoping to renovate 19 houses in Washtenaw County for local low-income families and individuals who are qualified and approved for the Habitat Home Ownership Program in fiscal year 2018.

Toyota Creates “Connected Technologies” to Advance In-Car User Experience

Newly formed team to include Connected Vehicle, Information Technology and R&D members

Toyota Motor North America today announced the decision to form a new group focused on delivering industry-leading user experiences and new technologies for its Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Leveraging the company’s new “One Toyota” structure, the newly formed “Connected Technologies” group will have approximately 100 positions and will include members from Toyota’s existing teams working on connected vehicles, information systems, and research and development. Combining Toyota’s various strategy, planning, development, engineering and operations for connected service and hardware systems, will help advance and personalize the in-car technology experience for customers. The transition to the new group will start immediately.
 
“In-car, connected vehicle technology is a high priority for us because its impact on the customer experience is becoming an increasingly important factor in their purchase decisions,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “Thanks to the new One Toyota structure, we are removing barriers among our North American teams that work on connected vehicles to create a more cohesive and empowered team to listen to and create an ever-better connected car experience for customers.”
 
Connected Technologies will be based in Plano and report to Zack Hicks. Hicks will continue in his two current roles, as both CIO of Toyota Motor North America and as the CEO of Toyota Connected North America, while adding this new responsibility.
 
“Our new team will double-down our efforts on connected vehicles so we can provide our Toyota and Lexus customers a more human experience,” commented Hicks. “Connected vehicles are the next step in a personalized driving experience, emphasizing your preferences as a driver thanks to better technology, improving the customer’s ownership experience over time.”
 
Connected vehicle technology includes one or more connections to the Internet, such as via smartphone or satellite. There are two areas of experience that are focused on: driver-centric and car-centric. Driver-centric content, like internet-connected radio, cloud-based content, and apps, help personalize the driver’s car ownership experience. The other, car-centric content, offers companies like Toyota the opportunity for remote diagnostics, over-the-air software updates, cyber-security, and vehicle relationship management. The market for connected vehicles is growing rapidly as increased Internet speeds and products become more widely available.
 
 

About Toyota 
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 – and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.  
 
Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com. 

Toyota Financial Services Offers Payment Relief to Customers Affected by Hurricane Harvey

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) announced it is offering payment relief options to its customers affected by Hurricane Harvey. This broad outreach includes any Toyota Financial Services (TFS) or Lexus Financial Services (LFS) customer in the designated disaster areas. 

 
We at Toyota Financial Services care about the safety and well-being of our customers and want to help those impacted by the hurricane.  Impacted lease and finance customers residing in the devastated areas may be eligible to take advantage of several payment relief options, some of which include:

• extensions and lease deferred payments 
• redirecting billing statements
• arranging phone or on-line payments

 
Toyota Financial Services will proactively attempt to contact customers in the affected areas to assess their needs and inform customers of the options available to them. 
 
Customers who would like to discuss their account options are encouraged to contact TFS or LFS:
 
Toyota Financial Services customers may call (800) 874-8822 or contact TFS via email using the Mail Center function after logging into ToyotaFinancial.com.
 
Lexus Financial Services customers may call 800-874-7050 or contact LFS via email using the Mail Center function after logging into LexusFinancial.com.
 
We extend our heartfelt thoughts to those affected by the natural disaster. 
 

About Toyota Financial Services
Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the finance and insurance brand for Toyota in the United States, offering retail auto financing and leasing through Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC) and Toyota Lease Trust. TFS also offers extended service contracts through Toyota Motor Insurance Services (TMIS). The company services Lexus dealers and customers using the Lexus Financial Services brand. TFS currently employs approximately 3,100 associates nationwide, and has assets totaling over $119 billion. It is part of a worldwide network of comprehensive financial services offered by Toyota Financial Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. We announce material financial information using the investor relations section of our website (www.toyotafinancial.com) and SEC filings. We use these channels, press releases, and social media to communicate about our company, our services and other issues. While not all information we post on social media is of a material nature, some information could be material. Therefore, we encourage those interested in our company to review our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/toyotafinancial. 
 
Points of Light has named TFS one of its Civic 50, which recognizes the most community-minded companies in the nation.  For more information about the company’s support of financial literacy, youth development programs, and other community initiatives, please visit www.tfsinthecommunity.com.
 

Four Tribal Colleges Receive ‘Toyota TCU STEM Award’ from American Indian College Fund

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, IIisagvik College, Sitting Bull College and Fort Peck Community College Recognized for STEM Programs; Awarded Cash Prizes for Projects in Environmental Sustainability and Engineering

SIPI’s pre-engineering program incorporates hands-on and intergenerational learning in its STEM programs and research. Graduate students mentor undergraduates, undergraduates mentor high school students, and so on under the guidance of elders. Using this method, SIPI has increased the number of Native Americans enrolling in and persisting in STEM fields, while also exposing students to pathways for furthering their education.
 
Dr. Sherry Allison, president of SIPI, said, “I am very pleased and honored to serve as President of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, where our faculty and staff work diligently on behalf of student success. This distinguished award exemplifies the hard work, commitment and dedication of our students, faculty and staff.” 
 
Dr. Nader Vadiee, faculty and coordinator of the Engineering and Engineering Technology Programs at SIPI, said, “Throughout SIPI’s pre-engineering program’s 10-year existence with more than $5 million in grant funding from federal agencies such as NASA, it has collaborated across the institute with STEM and vocational programs in research, outreach and student education. The pre-engineering program also organized four Tribal College and University (TCU) Summer Institutes and won several national honors. The TCU Toyota STEM award underscores the important work that SIPI, with the pre-engineering program, is doing to educate the next generation of STEM leaders in our communities.”
 
SIPI was also chosen for the award to allow it to continue its research on the impact of climate change on watershed areas in the Southwest; ecological research on plants and animals in biome transition zones; studying and forecasting the future of dry lands; and research, education and outreach on the reactivity of abandoned uranium mine waste in New Mexico.
 
The following three TCUs also received Toyota TCU STEM Awards:
First Place: Ilisagvik College, Barrow, Alaska, $20,000, to research changes to microbes in tundra soil from climate change and potential impacts on subsistence living.
Second Place: Sitting Bull College, Ft. Yates, North Dakota, $15,000, to increase field research for gathering baseline environmental data for comparison when oil development reaches the Standing Rock Reservation.
Third Place: Fort Peck Community College, $10,000, for continuation of its robotics programs, purchase of lab equipment and a 3D printer to make robots parts, and STEM program outreach and recruitment at high schools.
 
Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, “The College Fund appreciates Toyota’s commitment to supporting innovation and encouraging a diverse STEM workforce. The contributions of our students and their communities to a better society is strengthened by this support.”
 
Toyota has supported Native American education through the College Fund since 1999, helping nearly 1,500 Native students earn a college degree with the Toyota Tribal College Scholarship Program. In 2014, Toyota provided $1 million to the College Fund, helping with additional scholarships and programs at TCUs.
 
“Each of these schools create a path to opportunity, preparing students for the next generation of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Al Smith, group vice president, Toyota Social Innovation. “We congratulate each of the tribal colleges and universities and the students for their work in STEM fields.”

Toyota FT-4X Concept

Toyota is known for creating visually striking and functional vehicles. Toyota recently unveiled its Toyota FT-4X, which exceeds both expectations.

 See the video HERE . What do you think of it?!

Toyota and Servco Pacific Inc. Pilot Test New Car Share Application

Are you looking forward to this technology becoming more mainstream?


Toyota and Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco) have partnered to test a new car-sharing technology in Honolulu. The suite of software and services is an important part of Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) which will offer various functions to enable a more convenient mobility experience. When the employee-only pilot testing program concludes, Servco, the distributor of Toyota vehicles in Hawaii, will use the car-sharing technology to launch a new Honolulu-based car share business by the end of 2017.
 
The car-sharing application will support driver identification and authentication, plus payment and fleet management for car-sharing businesses. It also includes a Smart Key Box (SKB), which lets users lock and unlock vehicles via a smartphone. The application was developed in-house and is managed by Toyota Connected North America (TC), the global technology strategy business unit for Toyota.
 
“This new application demonstrates the power of combining Toyota’s unrivaled global manufacturing and technology capacity with dealers’ extensive local operations to provide consumers with more convenient options to move,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, President of Connected Company, Toyota Motor Corporation.
 
“This successful launch of the MSPF represents the next generation in car-sharing platforms and is Toyota's global foundation for fleet management, car-sharing, and the future of mobility,” said Zack Hicks, CEO of Toyota Connected North America. “Its powerful and flexible API based platform allows us to quickly adapt to new market opportunities and support deployment of locally-tailored mobility services."
 
Since January 2017, Toyota has been working with Getaround on the car-sharing pilot program in San Francisco, Calif., verifying convenience and usability of the SKB. Thanks to the pilot test with Servco, Toyota continues to enhance the car-sharing application and MSPF, which seeks to leverage the power of connected vehicle systems to support new mobility businesses. Eventually, Toyota will also begin working with other dealers and distributors to tailor the core technology for their markets, aiming for safe and more convenient, customer-centric mobility services.
 
Launched in 2016, TC was created to significantly expand Toyota’s capabilities in the fields of vehicle data science, machine learning, and contextual data services development, and provides a wide range of data and computer science services across Toyota’s global operations.

You're Invited to Burien Toyota's GRAND OPENING!

You are invited to the weekend-long party at Burien Toyota to celebrate the unveiling our new, state-of-the-art showroom and service-center! Join us any time August 18-20 for tours, various activities, and goodies!

• On Friday, August 18 stop by before the game for a free taco at our Taco Truck Tailgate party 4-7pm!
• On Saturday, August 19 we'll have "Adopt a Pet" with Burien CARES 11am-2pm and shaved ice 1pm-4pm!
• On Sunday, August 20 come hang out with Blitz at a BBQ 1-3pm; BBQ Schacht 1-4pm!

Thank you for supporting us over the years! We are excited to open this new chapter with you and hope you stop by!

Honda Civic sets new July record, gaining 11.3% Honda HR-V has hottest month on record as it jumps 32.3% Honda core products Accord, Civic and CR-V all top 30,000 in sales in July Acura Division rises 3.7% in July on gains from ILX and RDX Acura trucks set new July record, rising 11.3% percent Acura RDX sets new July mark with a strong 28.2% increase American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported total July sales of 150,980 Honda and Acura vehicles, driven by the success of core models even as tight supplies of certain products contributed to a slight decrease of 1.2 percent vs. July 2016. Combined sales of Honda and Acura cars were up 1.9 percent on sales of 76,468, while combined trucks decreased 4.2 percent on sales of 74,512. Total Honda Division sales decreased 1.7 percent on sales of 136,803. Honda Division cars gained 2.8 percent with 72,557 vehicles sold in July, and Honda trucks were down 6.2 percent on sales of 64,246 units due mostly to limited inventory. Acura Division sales were up 3.7 percent in July on sales of 14,177 vehicles, with trucks rising 11.3 percent on sales of 10,266 for a new July record, and cars down by 12.2 percent on sales of 3,911 units. Honda Well-balanced sales of both cars and trucks were a familiar theme for the Honda Division in July. Despite tight supplies of Odyssey and certain CR-V, Pilot and Ridgeline models, Honda truck sales managed a solid showing against a record July 2016, with HR-V having its best month ever and CR-V surpassing 30,000 units for the month. Civic and Accord continued to show strength with sales above 30,000 units, with the hot new Civic Type R and Si variants bringing renewed energy to the showroom, helping overall Civic sales to a new July record. HR-V set a new all-time monthly record, gaining 32.3 percent on sales of 9,779. Civic sales reached 36,683 for a new July record, rising 11.3 percent for the month. Accord continued to show strength in July, surpassing 30K sales for the month. "Honda is the outlier in the industry in that we see solid demand for our products rather than demand for incentives to buy them," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda. "With models like Civic, Accord, CR-V, HR-V and Odyssey, each number one in their segments in retail sales for the first half of 2017, our position continues to get stronger." Acura Gateway models drove Acura's success in July, with RDX setting a new July mark to lift Acura trucks to a new record for the month, and ILX gaining 10 percent for the month as Acura's gateway sports sedan showed a second consecutive monthly increase. TLX continued to sell well in July with the A-Spec model drawing showroom interest, but tight supplies due to strong sales the past two months limited total TLX sales in July. Acura trucks set new July mark, gaining 11.3 percent on sales of 10,266 vehicles. RDX sales set a new July record with a 28.2 percent gain on sales of 5,539. ILX sales rose for the second straight month, up 10.1 percent in July on sales of 1,322 units. "In the face of increased fleet sales in the luxury market we continue to focus on the growing momentum of the Acura brand with retail customers," said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of the Acura division. "We're excited with the drawing power of our products and the sales success of our gateway models to millennial buyers shows that our product and marketing direction is beginning to pay dividends."

Toyota Financial Services Launches Key Replacement Product August 1

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) helps drivers with lost, stolen, or damaged car keys get back on the road with its new Key Replacement Protection product.
 
Advanced technology from today’s modern car keys offer additional security and convenience, but this can add to the cost to replace a vehicle key.
 
“Today’s vehicle technology is great for consumers,” said Karen Ideno, vice president of Product & Marketing, Toyota Financial Services. “Unfortunately, this sometimes comes with a high cost to replace. We know key replacement can be stressful for our customers, and we’re happy to now offer a solution.”
 
To help alleviate the potential financial impact of customers’ lost, stolen or damaged keys, Toyota Financial Services/Lexus Financial Services (TFS/LFS) is launching its newest protection product – Key Replacement, built and supported by the strength of Toyota and Lexus.
 
Key Replacement Protection Benefits include*:

• Replacement of the covered vehicle key/remote if lost, damaged, or stolen, up to $800 per occurrence
• Lock-out assistance to unlock the vehicle if your vehicle keys are lost, damaged, or stolen, up to $100 per occurrence
• Towing assistance, up to $100 per occurrence
• Taxi/rental vehicle/public transportation reimbursement, up to $75 per occurrence
• Replacement benefit for additional nonprogrammable keys on the key ring, up to $250 per covered key claim for a total of up to three (3) occurrences

 
Key Replacement Protection has been added as an enhancement to the TFS/LFS Tire & Wheel program, and will be offered as a standalone product later this year. TFS has partnered with Safe-Guard Products International, an industry leader in administering vehicle protection products, to ensure quality service to Key Replacement Protection customers.
 
For more details, please visit www.toyotafinancial.com/TW or www.lexusfinancial.com/TW, or contact a participating Toyota or Lexus dealer.
 
We can’t help find your car keys, but we can take the stress out of replacing them!