The green car race is in overdrive with reports from the Nikkei suggesting that Toyota Tsusho Corp, a Toyota affiliated trading house, will start importing rare earth elements from Vietnam and India. If proven accurate, the acquisition of independent sources of key materials would give Toyota a sizeable advantage in the production of hybrid cars. Currently, China supplies around 90 per cent of the rare earth elements used in Japan but it is beginning to tighten its export restrictions. In ... read more

 Here in the UK, the thought of a car that runs on solar power seems like a distant dream - after all, we need some sun first, right? Still, much is being made of solar technology with Green Mountain Power, which sells electricity and utility construction services in the state of Vermont, converting two of its Toyota Prius fleet vehicles into plug-in hybrids. The cars’ batteries are charged using a 4kW solar array that has been installed at the company’s headquarters in ... read more

 Continuing the theme from our earlier post on how the cash crisis could kill electric cars, it now appears that hybrid cars too could come under threat. CEO of Japan’s Nissan Motor and France’s Renault, Carlos Ghosn, warned that car manufacturers “can’t find the financing” for aggressive development of green cars during a speech at the LA Auto Show. He expects the recession in the motoring sector to last until 2010 and says car makers are struggling to divert ... read more

 Already established as one of the leading players in the hybrid market, Toyota’s luxury division Lexus is now planning to take its green car offerings to another level. The company unveiled the new RX 450h at the LA Auto Show yesterday ahead of a launch in Europe during the summer of 2009. In the UK, the new generation version of the RX will be an all-hybrid range with the RX 450h replacing both the RX 400h hybrid and the RX 350 petrol engine. The current RX 400h has proved a ... read more

Japanese car giant Toyota has recently announced the development of an all new 1.33-litre Dual VVT-I petrol engine which incorporates the increasing popular start/stop technology to achieve improved fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. The new Auris 1.33 Dual VVT-I Stop&Start not only benefits from Toyota’s Stop&Start technology but also comes with the added benefit of Toyota Optimal Drive, the first model released in the UK with this new engineering and design. Toyota are ... read more

The eagerly awaited Toyota iQ, dubbed the world’s smallest four-seater passenger vehicle has won the esteemed 2008 Japan Car of the Year. The judges praised the iQ for its space efficiency and design, particularly the iQ’s capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions. However, Europe will have to wait to shower praise on the iQ as it does go on sale here until January 2009. ... read more

Sometimes green cars can appear a little pricey, but not anymore claims consumer guide, Which? To celebrate the publication of  the ‘Which? Complete Guide to Greener Driving’, the independent consumer champion set out to find the best green car deals. With new car registrations down, dealers are offering some fantastic deals right now. Which? found savings of more than £2,000 on cars such as the Fiat Panda and Citroën C2. The top bargains on green cars include: Fiat Panda 1.3 ... read more

 So which country is leading the way in the development of green cars - perhaps Japan with its progressive auto industry, Australia with its green car fund or the USA inspired by California’s green push? Well, it seems they may all be left standing by South East Asia’s most important car-making centre - Thailand. As of 2009, Toyota Thailand will begin production of Camry hybrids making it the manufacturer’s third site for hybrid vehicles. Indeed Thailand has been working on ... read more

Japanese car manufacturer, one of the most proactive developers of greener car technology, has surprised the world by announcing low quarterly profits and amending its earnings forecast for 2008. Proof that no company is immune to the economic turmoil, despite the success of some of their green cars such as the ever-popular Prius hybrid; Toyota has revised its net income down to 550 billion yen down from 1.25 trillion yen. Profits for quarter two of 2008 fell 47.6 per cent to 493.4 billion ... read more

 Mirror, mirror on the wall, which hybrid is the most fuel efficient of them all? That was the question the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked as motorists continue to show interest in hybrid cars as a way of battling high petrol prices. The EPA has ranked ten hybrid vehicles with the most famous hybrid of all - the Toyota Prius - coming out on top. The Prius, which manages 48 miles per gallon on city streets and 45mpg on the highway came top of the new fuel efficiency rating, ... read more