Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is taking a bold stance under its new President, Koji Sato, to accelerate decarbonization efforts by cutting the amount of carbon emissions per new car sold worldwide.
Sato, who assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer on April 1, 2023, is pursuing an aggressive strategy to promote the shift from petrol-powered cars to hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs), and others.
The Japanese auto giant is pursuing an automotive electrification plan with a “multi-pathway” approach while considering regional conditions. The company aims to reduce carbon emissions by more than 50% in each Toyota car by 2035, compared to the 2019 production year.
Toyota is the largest automotive company in the world, with the VW Group (Germany) as its closest competitor. Last year, TMC sold 10.48 million vehicles worldwide, controlling about 13% of the market share.
Toyota plans to promote EV, PHEV, and FCEV models in developed countries while increasing the sales ratio of HEV (hybrid) in emerging markets. The company’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions by promoting the shift to EVs and other electric-powered vehicles.
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Toyota sets carbon emission reduction targets based on “Well-to-Wheel” standards, which cover CO2 gas generated in fuel production. Even though electric cars don’t emit carbon, some of them still use electricity produced from fossil fuel plants. Because the use of non-fossil fuels cannot be done by Toyota alone, the company will support community efforts to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy sources.
Toyota has been struggling to reduce carbon emissions by more than 33% from 2019-2030, contributing to Japan’s commitment to “carbon neutrality,” in which the country aims to reduce the greenhouse gas effect to “net zero” by 2050. In response, Sato has set a temporary target to further accelerate the company’s efforts before 2050.
The process of achieving these new targets involves deploying efforts throughout the supply chain, including reduction efforts at the production, logistics, and other operational stages. In addition, Toyota will promote the use of renewable energy sources and hydrogen in its factories.
Other automakers, such as Nissan Motor and General Motors, are also setting targets to reduce carbon emissions. Nissan Motor aims to reduce carbon emissions per new car by 90% by 2050, while General Motors intends to reduce the total emissions of all its products and business activities worldwide to net zero by 2040.
The United States administration under President Joe Biden has decided that more than half of new vehicles sold in the US must be EVs by 2030.