Toyota Ireland is delighted to announce two new additions to its Dealer network in Cork. Macroom Motors (Cork City) and Grandon Car Sales (Glanmire) have been announced as new dealers. These strategic appointments for Toyota in Cork follow Toyota Ireland’s decision in June 2010 not to renew their current dealer agreements with the Keary Motor Group for both the Toyota and Lexus franchises.

Cogans of Carrigaline and O’Callaghan Motor Works of Kanturk will continue to be key pillars within the new network.

Simultaneously, Macroom Motors (Cork City) have also been awarded the Lexus franchise for the Cork region, taking over from the Keary Motor Group.

Commenting David Shannon, Managing Director Toyota Ireland said,

“We are very excited by the prospect of opening 2 new dealerships in the Cork area. Macroom Motors, who have been a Toyota Dealer since the franchise came to Ireland in the early 1970’s will be opening a state of the art premises for both the Toyota and Lexus franchises in the city while maintaining their dealership in Macroom.

Grandon Car Sales, who are in the motor business since 1975 and have an outstanding reputation in Cork, will be bringing Toyota to their premises in Glanmire”

Toyota Ireland is delighted to announce the addition of Grandon’s of Glanmire, Co. Cork, to its Dealer network.

Established in 1975 by Martin and Maria Grandon, Grandon’s is still a family run business, with son Ken now serving as Dealer Principal. The dealership is renowned for its customer service excellence, which the family cites as a major contributing factor to their success to date. A veritable one-stop-shop for all motoring needs, Grandon’s has expanded its sales and after sales areas over the years and now offers the comfort and service of one of the largest and most modern dealerships in the country. As well as new and used car sales, the dealership also provides services such as finance, insurance cover, body repairs, spray painting and valeting.

Commenting on the news, Ken Grandon, Dealer Principal said: “We are delighted and extremely proud to be invited to join the Toyota Dealer network and see this as a real opportunity to grow our business given the extensive range of models and innovative technology Ireland’s leading car brand is renowned for. We look forward to continuing to bring real value and excellent customer service to both new and existing customers for many years to come.”

Commenting on the announcement, David Shannon, Managing Director of Toyota Ireland said: “Grandon’s of Glanmire is exactly the type of dealership we were looking to add to the Toyota Dealer network, given its fantastic local reputation and strong emphasis on delivering stellar customer service. We look forward to a very strong and mutually beneficial future with Ken and his team.”

Toyota’s eagerly anticipated return to its sporting heritage has been marked with the launch of the compact 2+2 sports car, the GT86. The car has been described as an entirely driver-orientated vehicle, and is designed for those who consider driving a passion rather than necessity. The GT86, which is described as the world’s most compact four-seater sports car, will be available in Ireland from June at €39,895 for both the manual and automatic versions.

Toyota has a 50 year history of creating exciting, rear-wheel drive sports cars that have proved as popular with the public as they have been successful in competition. The new GT86 captures and builds upon the best elements of three key models from that rich sporting heritage: the Toyota Sports 800, the Toyota 2000GT and the AE86.

The GT86's aesthetic design was aimed at sport car fanatics -- its bold front wings are readily visible through the windscreen, and the rear wings through the door mirrors. These prominent forms at all four corners of the low-lying, highly aerodynamic body add a new dimension to the feeling of being at one with the car. The GT86 was designed with a ‘viewed from the inside out’ approach which proved integral to the design process from the early stages of its creation.

The GT86 model has a rear-wheel drive format, no turbocharging and ordinary tyres, making it an affordable and accessible car for driving enthusiasts. The model is the world’s only combination of compact front-mounted, naturally aspirated, free-revving, horizontally opposed ‘boxer’ petrol engine and rear-wheel drive, which gives maximum driving pleasure for those who get behind the wheel.

David Shannon, Managing Director, Toyota Ireland said,“The GT86 was designed to be very much a ‘driver’s car’ and we’re confident that even the most demanding car enthusiast will be impressed by the driving experience it offers. Toyota has an undeniably strong heritage in the creation of world class sports cars and the GT86 truly represents an exciting new chapter in this legacy.”

The company’s success in the annual report, according to Interbrand, is that Toyota has continued to maintain environmental sustainability as part of the company’s core management priority. Interbrand also cites the expansion of the world’s first mass-produced full hybrid model, the Toyota Prius, into a full family range 15 years after the model’s launch as a further success story for the company.

Sales of the company’s full hybrid vehicles have surpassed 4 million units globally since the end of April 2012, including around 430,000 units sold in Europe. Toyota Europe plans to increase the sales share of full hybrid Toyota and Lexus vehicles in 2012 to 14% which currently stands at around 10%.

Starting this year, the Toyota Prius Family in Europe will consist of the Toyota Prius, the seven-seater Toyota Prius+ and the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid – bringing environmental benefits of the Prius to a wide range of customers. The quiet revolution has also reached the European B-segment with the recent launch of the European built Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

As the company continues to strive to create the ultimate eco-car, Toyota remains committed to its 360° approach in sustainable operations, aiming to reduce carbon emissions throughout the complete manufacturing and sales processes. The company is also working towards conserving natural resources through reuse and recycling of materials.

The 2011 edition of the “Toyota European Sustainability Report” detailing the company’s sustainable operations and initiatives in Europe can be downloaded here, and the “Toyota and the Environment” brochure is available here. This year’s edition of the annual sustainability report will be launched in September.

More information on Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Green Brands report including research methodology can be found here.

David Shannon, Managing Director, Toyota Ireland, commenting on the announcement that Toyota is the number 1 brand in the Irish Passenger Car Market for the first 6 months of the year, with a market share of 12.7%, welcomed the announcement and said it reflected the brand’s strength in depth.

‘It is very gratifying for Toyota Ireland to maintain the Number 1 position in the Irish car market for the first 6 months of the year. Over the past 10 years Toyota has been number 1 in the Irish marketplace more than any other brand and it is undoubtedly a very positive and reassuring position to attain for ourselves, our dealers and our customers. However, we have long maintained that being Number 1 is not an end in itself and should never be seen as such. Rather, it is a reflection of the strength of the model range and level of service provided by Toyota Ireland and its Dealer network. It is also a reflection of the extraordinary loyalty of customers, of all ages, to the brand. While Toyota has vast examples of customers on their 10th straight Toyota, the brand’s level of new or ‘conquest’ customers is now exceptionally strong and continues to grow year on year.

‘In terms of the market we do notice, and would be concerned about, an increasing level of ‘pre-registered’ vehicles. The practise of relying on it for a significant proportion of a brand’s sales is unhealthy and ultimately will negatively effect the residual value of brands subjected to it. While the short term market is difficult, down 13.5% on the first 6 months of last year, it is not in anybody’s long term interest, distributors, dealers or, most importantly, the customer to distort it by inflating short term sales of particular models.’

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), met today with Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at BMW Group headquarters in Munich to announce the planned expansion of their existing cooperation initiated in December last year. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at a long-term strategic collaboration in four fields: joint development of a fuel cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle, collaboration on powertrain electrification and joint research and development on lightweight technologies.

Also today, Reithofer and Toyoda signed a Joint Statement to reconfirm their companies’ shared intention to strengthen the long-term, strategic collaboration between them.

Reithofer said: “We aim to further strengthen our competitive position in sustainable future technologies. We signed an MoU to this effect today. Toyota and the BMW Group share the same strategic vision of sustainable individual future mobility. Together we have a great opportunity to continue leading our industry through this transformation.”

Toyoda added:“BMW and Toyota both want to make ever-better cars. We respect each other. That is why we already can take the next step together.” He went on to say: “Toyota is strong in environment-friendly hybrids and fuel cells … I believe BMW’s strength is developing sports cars. I get so excited thinking about the cars that will result from this relationship.”

In March 2012, the BMW Group and TMC signed a binding agreement on collaborative research in the field of next-generation lithium-ion battery cells. In addition, the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Europe entered into a contract in December last year, under which the BMW Group will supply highly efficient 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre diesel engines to Toyota Motor Europe starting in 2014. Today’s MoU represents the companies’ agreement in December last year to identify and discuss other possible collaborative projects.

Having been awarded the Toyota franchise for Cork city, Macroom Motors is expanding and establishing a new Cork city dealership that will operate as Lehane Motors, and will represent both Toyota and Lexus brands. Established in 1971, Macroom Motors came on board as a Toyota Dealership in 1975, and is now one of the largest retailers of new and used vehicles in the country. The company is run by Donal Lehane and his son John, who serves as Dealer Principal.

Macroom Motors is renowned for providing excellent value to its many loyal customers, and matches its competitive pricing with stellar customer service, which is something the company prides itself on and consistently scores in the top tier in customer satisfaction surveys for Toyota. This focus on providing excellent customer service will be evident in Lehane Motors also.

Commenting on the news, John Lehane, Dealer Principal said: “Macroom Motors has had a very successful association with Toyota Ireland over the 37 years that we have worked together. We are delighted to have the opportunity to open Lehane Motors and serve the loyal Toyota customers of Cork city and look forward to a prosperous and bright future with Toyota Ireland.”

Commenting on the announcement, David Shannon, Managing Director of Toyota Ireland said: “We are excited to be working with John and his team on the opening of Lehane Motors. Macroom Motors has a fantastic reputation in Cork through consistent delivery of great value and the highest quality of customer service, and we are sure that Lehane Motors will quickly establish a similar reputation. We believe that together with Lehane Motors we can deliver an unbeatable offering to current and future Toyota customers in Cork.”

This milestone took 76 years and 11 months to reach, and began with production of the Model G1 truck in August 1935 at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd.'s1 Automotive Department, which was spun off and later became TMC. As of the end of June, cumulative production in Japan reached 145.21 million vehicles while overseas production reached 55.12 million vehicles.

Cumulative vehicle production since 1992 at Toyota’s manufacturing facilities in Europe, including facilities in the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and United Kingdom, reached 7.44 million units at the end of 2011.

Marking the achievement, TMC President Akio Toyoda said: "I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to our customers the world over who made it possible for us to reach this milestone. I also have the most profound respect and gratitude for the efforts of all persons who were involved in developing, manufacturing, and marketing Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the years. We are determined to make our cars even better, to continue to give our customers the best possible product. This is the common goal of our 300,000 Toyota staff members worldwide."

The most-produced model among Toyota-brand vehicles is the Corolla , of which the 11th generation was launched in Japan on May 11. Cumulative worldwide Corolla production totalled 39.08 million units as of the end of June.

The “2012 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest” received more than 620,000 entries in total from more than 70 countries around the world. Toyota Ireland is delighted to announce that three Irish participants were ranked in the Top 20 of the Dream Car Art Contest.

Ian Corbett, Marketing Operations Manager at Toyota Ireland said, “It is a real testament to the talent in Ireland that such a small country would have three entries in the top 20 of the World Toyota Dream Car Art Contest. We look forward to what the 2012 competition holds for our budding artists.”

The Toyota Motor Corporation has enclosed the top finalists artwork on the following link

Congratulations to the following three Irish Finalists:

Through a specially created Katie Taylor Fan Wall hosted on Toyota Ireland’s website. Toyota amassed more than 1,000 goodwill messages over the past three weeks from fans around the country, and added more than 2,000 ‘likers’ to their popular Facebook page which has over 30,000 ‘likers’ to date. The messages of encouragement were compiled into a giant ‘fan wall’ and presented to Katie today in her boxing club in Bray, Co. Wicklow as she took a brief break from her training. Fans who wrote messages were included in daily prize draws for €50 Lifestyle Sports vouchers and weekly prize draws for pairs of signed Katie Taylor boxing gloves.

Speaking at the presentation of the Fan Wall to Katie, Ian Corbett, Marketing Operations Manager for Toyota Ireland said:“We’re very proud to have such an inspiring world-class athlete as Katie Taylor associated with the Toyota brand and acting as an ambassador for the new Auris Hybrid. Irish people are immensely proud of her achievements to date and we’re 100% behind her as she represents the country at the very highest level in her sport. The amount of messages we received for our Katie Taylor Fan Wall is testament of this support.”

Katie Taylor commented,“I’m overwhelmed and humbled by the amount of personal messages of encouragement from the public, and would like to thank them all for this very special gift. It really means a lot to me. I’d also like to thank Toyota for putting it all together and creating this really unique fan wall for me on behalf of everyone.”

Toyota Motor Europe and PSA Peugeot Citroën announce today a new agreement on light commercial vehicles for the European market. Under the plan, PSA Peugeot Citroën is to supply Toyota with light commercial vehicles for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand.

As a first step, starting in the second quarter of 2013, PSA Peugeot Citroën will supply Medium Size Vans derived from its existing vehicles Peugeot Expert and Citroën Jumpy. The agreement also includes collaboration on next generation vehicles which are to be produced by PSA Peugeot Citroën. The collaboration is expected to last beyond 2020.

Under the plan, Toyota Motor Europe is to participate in the development and industrial investment costs for the next generation product. There are no plans for the two companies to enter into capital tie-ups or joint production.

"The Light Commercial Vehicle segment is an important one for us in many markets throughout Europe,” said Toyota Motor Europe President and CEO Didier Leroy.“By joining forces with PSA Peugeot Citroën, we have found a good solution for our loyal customers following the recent discontinuation of our own Hiace model. We already enjoy a successful joint-venture partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroën in the small car segment and they are a leader in the European light commercial vehicle market, with a solid reputation for quality and versatility.”

“We are delighted to announce today the enlargement of the scope of our successful cooperation with Toyota. This agreement launches the development of a new generation of mid-size Light Commercial Vehicle offering both companies a competitive product for the European market” quoted Jean-Christophe Quémard, PSA Peugeot Citroën programmes executive vice president.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) will return to rallying with the entry-level TMG Yaris R1A car, which will be showcased in public for the first time at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland (24-26 August).

TMG has developed the TMG Yaris R1A specifically to provide an affordable, exciting entry into rallying for competitors young and old. TMG is taking orders immediately, with donor car and upgrade kit (excluding tax and installation) priced at approximately €22,500.

The FIA’s R1A regulations permit only limited performance modifications to the standard 1.33l petrol-engined, three-door Yaris. TMG’s upgrade kit includes racing exhaust and catalytic converter system, shorter final drive gear, motorsport suspension with adapted springs and adjustable ride height.

In addition, comprehensive safety equipment features bolt-in roll cage, guards for sump, fuel tank and fuel lines, fire extinguishers, rally seats and safety harness plus power cut-off switch.

Before the end of the year, the TMG Yaris R1A is expected to become the first car in the world to be awarded FIA R1A (up to 1400cc) homologation. This qualifies the car to compete on regional, national and international competitions all the way up to World Rally Championship events.

After a positive test in July in Saarland, the TMG Yaris R1A will make its public debut in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the ninth round of the WRC. It will run as a ‘zero car’ on the event, running at close to full speed in its role as course vehicle, confirm safe road conditions and announcing the start of each stage.

It will be driven by Isolde Holderied, a former works driver in the German Rally Championship during TMG’s world championship-winning rally era. TMG team member Herbie Hossbach will co-drive.

The TMG Yaris R1A represents the first stage in a wider plan from TMG to supply cost-effective and fun motorsport cars to private entrants.

Yoshiaki Kinoshita, TMG President:“It is a great thrill for TMG to return to rallying, a discipline in which we enjoyed a great deal of success in the past. The TMG Yaris R1A is a completely different project compared to our WRC past; it is an affordable but exciting car which makes rallying’s major events accessible to a whole range of participants. We have already received numerous inquiries about this car so we know there is a huge appetite in the rally world for a new TOYOTA; I hope this is the start of a new rally dynasty at TMG.”

For more information about the TMG Yaris R1A and/or the potential Yaris Trophy, please email motorsport@toyota-motorsport.com.

The Toyota Prius tops the new and more stringent EcoTest by ADAC, Germany’s largest automobile club, ahead of 55 other vehicles that have been tested under the same new conditions. The Toyota Prius was the first vehicle to be awarded a total of 90 points, claiming the maximum five star rating. The 4.58l/100km fuel consumption reached during the tests was awarded 40 points. The maximum 50 points were attributed for the hybrid’s low emissions.

In April of this year, ADAC presented the more stringent criteria for the EcoTest. A new feature is the inclusion of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP cycle), which corresponds to the projected future world cycle to measure fuel consumption. In addition, the car is submitted to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) and the ADAC highway cycle.

One of the main changes is that the air conditioning is on during the WLTP cycle and the ADAC highway cycle. In addition, the so-called well-to-wheel values are included in the calculations of the CO2 emissions, taking into account the emissions that result from the production of the vehicle or from fuel transportation.

The Toyota Prius, a combination of a conventional petrol engine with an electric motor, was introduced 15 years ago as the world’s first mass-produced full hybrid vehicle. Since then Toyota has enlarged its global hybrid portfolio to include 18 full hybrid Toyota and Lexus passenger vehicles, reaching the 4 million sales milestone for full hybrid vehicles at the end of April this year. In Europe, Toyota sells the Toyota Yaris Hybrid, Toyota Auris Hybrid and Toyota Prius, in addition to the Toyota Prius+ and Prius Plug-in Hybrid recently launched as part of the all-new Toyota Prius Family.

Toyota and Lexus vehicles took six out of the top 10 spots overall as the most environmentally friendly vehicles in the recently published Environmental Car List. The Lexus CT 200h came in second overall joined by five Toyota models, including the iQ, Yaris Hybrid, Auris Hybrid, Prius and Prius+ in the 2012/2013 report published by the Traffic Club of Germany (Verkehrsclub Deutschland, or VCD).

In the “Compact Class” category, the Lexus CT 200h came in first scoring 7.83 in the report’s ranking, while the current generation Toyota Auris Hybrid placed second with 7.33.

The Toyota Prius and the recently launched seven-seater Toyota Prius+ placed first and second respectively in the “Family Car” category. In the same category, Toyota Verso S 1.4 D-4D came in joint eighth with a score of 5.95.

Toyota’s latest addition to the Prius Family, the Prius+ also placed first in the category for seven-seater models with a score of 7.38.

Launched earlier this year, and built in France, the Toyota Yaris Hybrid took joint top spot for most environmentally friendly vehicles in terms of CO2 emissions at just 79 g/km. The Lexus CT 200h continues to perform well from last year’s result, coming in at joint sixth with CO2 emissions of just 87 g/km.

The Traffic Club of Germany, or VCD, is a non-profit organisation promoting environmentally and socially sustainable mobility. The organisation first published its Environmental Car List in 1989, the year it was founded. The evaluation criteria for the report is based on the following factors: 60% CO2 emissions; 20% noise pollution; 15% harmful emissions (e.g. particulate matters, NO2, NOx); and 5% environmental impact (e.g. NOx).

Munster and Ireland Rugby Star Represents Toyota Ireland in the Land Cruiser

Dublin -- July 16th, 2012 – Toyota Ireland extend their relationship with Munster and Ireland rugby hero Paul O’Connell until 2015. The 85 time capped Irish Rugby international, who has opted for the new generation Land Cruiser as his car of choice, has been a Toyota brand ambassador since 2010.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Ian Corbett, Marketing Operations Manager for Toyota Ireland said, “Paul has been a fantastic ambassador for Toyota since we kicked off our collaboration in 2010. As a former captain of Munster, Ireland and Lions rugby squads he has achieved legendary status in the game, and we are proud to continue our relationship with him as he represents Toyota Ireland in a vehicle which itself has achieved legendary status as the world’s best-selling four wheel drive – the Land Cruiser.”

Paul O’ Connell commented, “I’ve really enjoyed working with Toyota over the past two years and look forward to our continued relationship. “As a recognised sports professional representing my country, it’s very important to pick the right brands to work with and you don’t get much better than Ireland’s number 1 car brand. I am a big fan of the Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s the perfect car for me in so many ways – it’s very spacious, looks great and performs equally well in the wilds of the countryside as it does in the city.”

Toyota Ireland has announced that from September 2012 it will become the new sponsor of rugby coverage on Newstalk 106-108fm.

The deal will see Toyota supporting all rugby broadcasts on the station including Newstalk’s innovative rugby analysis on the multi award-winning Off the Ball, The Right Hook and Weekend Sports as well as Irish international game analysis and its live broadcasting of up to fifteen Heineken Cup games.

Regular contributors to Newstalk’s rugby coverage include a host of former stars and expert analysts like Shane Horgan, Keith Wood, Denis Hickie, Emmett Byrne, Liam Toland and Matt Williams.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Ian Corbett, Marketing Operations Manager for Toyota Ireland said,“At Toyota Ireland, when it comes to sponsorship, we aim to partner with people and organisations that show exceptionally high standards and dedication to their craft. The sports team at Newstalk delivers the best rugby analysis and coverage and that comes across in the quality of journalism, contributors and the overall entertainment value of their broadcasts.

We’re delighted to announce this new sponsorship and look forward to working with Newstalk into the new rugby season.”

TOYOTA Racing led from start to finish for the team’s first victory in just its third race with a dominant performance in the Six Hours of Sao Paulo at Interlagos on Saturday September 14th at the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Drivers Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre started from pole position in the TS030 HYBRID as the #7 maintained its record of having led every race in which it has competed.

The result marks TOYOTA’s first victory in an FIA world championship race since the 1999 Rally of China. It is 20 years since victory for the TS010 at Monza in 1992, TOYOTA’s last success in international endurance racing.

Today’s victory completes a remarkable journey for the TOYOTA HYBRID System - Racing. The project to develop a hybrid system for motorsport began in 2006 under Hisatake Murata, now Hybrid Project Leader at TOYOTA Racing.

The project created history in July 2007 when a TOYOTA Supra became the first-ever hybrid winner, in the Tokachi 24 Hours. That pioneering super capacitor technology has been extensively developed, reducing weight and increasing power, leading to the unique powertrain in the TS030 HYBRID.

At Interlagos, Nico took the rolling start in bright sunshine and held the lead into the first corner. He set the pace at the front as he skilfully fought through the traffic before handing over to Alex with just over 90 minutes gone.

Soon after Alex made a fuel stop, an incident down the field caused a short safety car period, helping the #7 extend its lead to over 40 seconds.

At the restart Alex maintained the blistering pace to stretch his advantage to over a minute before handing back to Nicolas with two-and-a-half hours to go. He extended the lead to a complete lap as the final quarter of the race arrived.

The TS030 HYBRID was clearly the fastest car and as the race entered its final hour, Nico handed over to Alex. A very short fuel stop with just a few minutes to go allowed him to take a well-deserved victory by over a minute.

TOYOTA Racing’s next action comes at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Six Hours of Bahrain on 29 September when Alex and Nicolas will again be driving the #7 TS030.

Toyota Ireland has supplied Motability Ireland with a new Verso-S demonstration vehicle as part of their on-going commitment to the mobility market. The vehicle will be equipped with swivel seat, wheel chair boot hoist, state of the art hand controls, steering aids and left foot accelerator. It will be available for demonstration through Motability Ireland and the Toyota dealer network.

Commenting on the collaboration, Cathal Ryan, Fleet Sales Manager, Toyota Ireland said, "We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Motability Ireland. Like Toyota, Motability Ireland manufacture vehicles with a renowned reputation for quality and reliability backed up by industry leading customer service. They are at the forefront of the mobility industry. At Toyota, we realise the importance of the mobility market to our brand’s success in Ireland, and we intend to build upon this relationship in the future”

Jonathan Moore, Marketing Manager, Motability Ireland said, “We look forward to working with Toyota. Their products represent the very best in design and reliability and this reflects Motability Ireland`s core values. The Verso-S is a fantastic new vehicle, with a higher seating position, good accessibility and fully automatic transmission. I’m confident it will be successful in the mobility market”

Toyota Ireland has announced that since it launched in June, more than 13,000 people have signed up to the new Toyota Loyalty Club (TLC), an exclusive loyalty programme that offers Toyota Drivers significant discounts on leading brands and services.

Toyota has already partnered with over 80 leading brands in Ireland and expects to grow this number significantly in the coming months. TLC members can now avail of exclusive discounts from Aer Lingus, The Body Shop, Bord na Mona, Easons, Elverys Sports, McCabe’s Pharmacies, Hugo Boss, Optilase, Samsonite, Shaws, Sketchers, Tubs & Tiles and many more. The full list is available at www.toyotatlc.ie.

TLC was launched as part of Toyota’s commitment to the ongoing enhancement of its customer experience, and as a way to instantly reward our customers for their continued loyalty.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Michael Gaynor Customer & Marketing Communications Manager for Toyota Ireland said, “At Toyota Ireland we are always looking for ways to do more for our customers, whose exceptional loyalty has helped us retain the position of Ireland’s leading car brand year after year. The TLC programme is our way of saying ‘thank you’, and we are delighted that 50% of Toyota customers this year have already signed up to avail of the great discounts our programme partners are offering.”

Toyota customers can register for the Toyota TLC in two ways. They can log onto www.toyotatlc.ie or call 1850 200 724 and opt to receive offers either by email or by post.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and other affiliates in North America began the deployment of Microsoft Office 365-dedicated cloud services as their exclusive environment in June 2012. In Japan and other overseas affiliates, Toyota will be leveraging a hybrid model, with on-premises editions of Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Lync and Windows Server.

Microsoft will help Toyota provide these services to more than 200,000 employees around the world during the next two years. The goal of implementing this Microsoft platform is to better support mobile devices, reduce costs, and improve collaboration between employees with state-of-the-art enterprise social networking, conferencing, messaging and information-sharing tools.

“We continually strive to make our business stronger by improving Toyota’s organizational health, and today’s announcement to upgrade our communications is another step toward that goal,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, managing officer at Toyota. “We strongly believe that Microsoft has the most capable platform that delivers ease, excellence and efficiency required to provide the communication experience our employees expect.”

“Toyota’s decision to deploy Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Windows Server to its 200,000 employees worldwide is further evidence of the enterprise-class quality and scalability of the world’s most popular productivity platform, as well as another key milestone in our growing alliance together,” said Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner. “By seamlessly integrating both cloud and on-premises environments, Toyota will enable its employees to effortlessly collaborate and communicate with each other, whether they are within the same four walls or in locations around the world.”

This announcement represents an expansion of Toyota’s collaboration with Microsoft technologies. In April 2011, Toyota and Microsoft partnered to provide next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure cloud platform. Today’s announcement expands that initial investment and includes participation in Microsoft early adopter programs to test new products before they are released.

“I am delighted that, following the forging of our strategic agreement in 2011, Toyota has chosen the Microsoft platform to build its global IT communication infrastructure and that our two companies are further expanding their partnership as a result,” said Yasuyuki Higuchi, president and CEO, Microsoft Japan. “The building of a communication infrastructure for the 200,000-plus users in Toyota and its group companies in Japan, America and throughout the world is one of the largest projects that Microsoft has ever undertaken.”