Toyota plans new Prius-branded hybrid

Fiat ponders Alfa Romeo sales strategy; world’s most valuable car brand? BMW

Apr 30, 2010

Special to the Star

Except for entry-level subcompacts and minivans, new car buyers now have the choice of gasoline-electric hybrids in every segment, from compacts to full-size pickups and SUVs.

But a report coming out of Japan suggests Toyota may change that with a new Prius-branded hybrid people mover reportedly in the works.

According to the Japanese Nikkei business daily, the yet-unnamed Prius model will have a configurable, three-row seating arrangement, use an existing Toyota hybrid drivetrain and have a similar price to the current Prius that starts at under $28,000 in Canada.

The report also says the Prius minivan will be launched in 2011 — without specifying when in 2011 and in which markets. If it does make it to production, expect the Prius minivan to go on sale first in its home market of Japan.

While Toyota is not confirming any of this, the report does support the Japanese automaker’s strategy to offer hybrids in each of its model ranges by the end of the decade.

While at the Detroit auto show this year, Toyota unveiled a dedicated hybrid called the FT-CH. It also confirmed that it was developing a Prius family “marketing strategy” for North America that will “take full advantage of the Prius brand equity.”

Big push planned for Alfa Romeo

Italy’s Fiat recently presented its five-year product plan and it appears as if the automaker’s U.S. Chrysler Group will play a big role in reviving the sporty Alfa Romeo brand in North America.

Plans call for the launch of seven new Alfa models between 2010 and 2014.

In North America, Chrysler will build a compact SUV based on the compact platform that the Giulietta hatchback in Europe is built on, starting in 2012. A mid-size SUV (about the same size as the next Jeep Liberty) will be added in 2014.

Built in Italy to replace the existing BMW 3 Series-rival 159 models, Alfa will also sell a Giulietta mid-sized sedan and station wagon in North America, starting in late 2012.

Alfa will also sell a five-door version of its MiTo minicar here, which is currently sold in Europe as a three-door. A five-door MiTo will come to North America in 2013.

The next year, Alfa will launch the compact Giulietta here after the car gets a facelift.

Survey says! Car brands worth billions

How much is the badge on the front of your car worth? According to a recent survey by U.S. market research company Millward Brown, billions.

The company’s survey of the world’s most valuable car brands in 2009 was led BMW, valued at $21.82 billion. The German automaker passed the former top car brand, Toyota, now valued at $21.77.

Peter Walshe, Millward Brown global brand director, is optimistic the Japanese automaker will bounce back after Toyota’s massive recall campaign started to hurt its brand value toward the end of 2009.

“It is likely that Toyota’s brand has suffered further in recent months, but it is a strong brand and is trying hard to overcome the damage through a major communications campaign,” Walshe told Automotive News.

“All of our evidence shows that strong brands are much more likely to recover from a crisis.”

Ford (ranked 7th at $7.04B) and Volkswagen (9th at $6.99B) improved their brand values substantially last year, while Mercedes-Benz (4th at $14.3B) and Porsche (5th $12.02) dropped.

Walshe said Ford’s rise in brand value was helped by the company’s investment in high-tech innovations such as its Sync voice activated electronics control system, and in new technologies such as emission control, as well as by the smart use of social media.

The studies (based on interviews with more than 1 million consumers globally and an analysis of the financial and business performance of each company using financial data) show that investing in technologies that benefit the consumer pays off.

Volvo to retain autonomy, Chinese owner says

One of the biggest hurdles for Chinese automakers has been their inability to meet European and North American safety regulations.

In 2007, China’s Brilliance BS6 underwent Euro NCAP crash testing in Germany. Its A-pillar collapsed, the driver’s door popped out of its frame and the lower portion of the car buckled like a tin can. Needless to say, the BS6 didn’t pass, and no Chinese automaker has attempted to export a car to Europe or North America since.

But after China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. — or Geely — signed an agreement in March to buy Volvo from Ford, there’s been plenty of speculation that the deal may result in the first Chinese-made cars being sold here.

However, according to Frank Zhao, Geely’s vice-president for technology, the automaker has no immediate plan to export its own cars to developed markets.

At this year’s Beijing auto show, Zhao told media that Geely will make sure the operations of its own brand and the Swedish brand are kept separate.

“Our chairman Li Shufu has made it very clear that Geely is Geely and Volvo is Volvo. That means a lot because we have totally different customer segments and different markets,” Zhao said.

For now at least, Geely will remain focused on the rapidly growing Chinese market as well as some foreign, less restrictive markets, like India and some African countries.