Toyota highlighted its commitment to sustainable mobility, Geneva Motor Show 2008

10 March 2008 · posted by Staff

At the Geneva Motor Show 2008, Toyota highlighted its commitment to sustainable mobility. The company also offered the world premiere of its solution to urban mobility, the iQ concept, which is now ready for production.

At the press conference, Andrea Formica, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota Motor Europe, said: “In recent years, the Prius has moved from an environmental icon to a high-selling model in Europe.”

In 2007, Toyota sold 32,000 Prius in Europe, a 40 % year-on-year increase. By 2009, Toyota aims to sell 70,000 units annually.

Toyota is also preparing for the future through the development of innovative and advanced technology to further reduce impact on the environment. Mr. Formica added: “We are determined to expand choices for customers in terms of intelligent, energy-efficient small cars in particular.”

He then introduced the iQ, which is a vehicle that delivers low fuel consumption and low emissions from both its diesel and two petrol engines.

The iQ is a prime example of what Toyota calls the “J-factor”; in other words, using Japanese originality to combine an edgy, urban design within a refined, sophisticated small space. Its “3+1” seating arrangement accommodates three adults plus a child or luggage, in a vehicle less than 3 meters in length. iQ has been designed to meet EURO NCAP′s top 5-star safety rating.

Production of the vehicle will begin later this year and Toyota expects sales to reach 100,000 units globally in 2009.

During the March 3rd media event for the Geneva Motor Show, Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, explained Toyota′s main activities for reducing CO2 emissions.

He began his speech with the following statement: “Toyota celebrated its 70th anniversary last year. Now, however, economic growth must be balanced with the needs of our planet and society, given the environmental issues we face.”

“Today, I am pleased to say that our total diesel engine production has reached 20 million units worldwide.” The key to that success is Toyota′s clean diesel technology, known as the DPNR (Diesel Particulate NOx Reduction) system.

Hybrid technology can also achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions. Toyota′s long-standing goal is to sell one million hybrids per year sometime during the 2010s. In addition, the company expects to offer a hybrid version of each model in the 2020s.

One of the promising directions toward sustainable mobility is in the field of electricity. Toyota′s Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles or PHV are based on its current hybrid technology and can be charged by an electricity source at home.

In September last year, Toyota began a partnership with EDF, a leading energy supplier, to road-test its PHV in Europe for the first time. In January of this year, Mr. Watanabe announced that Toyota will deliver a fleet of PHVs, powered by lithium-ion batteries, to fleet customers in Europe by 2010. To make that happen, Toyota is planning to expand its Panasonic joint-venture battery factory.

Looking ahead, many point to the Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV) as the ultimate eco-car. Last September, Toyota′s FCHV vehicle traveled 560 kilometers between Osaka and Tokyo in Japan without refueling.

Toyota has also extended its R&D scope to include bio-fuels. Mr. Watanabe believes the use of bio-fuels should not disrupt the world′s food supply: “Our biotechnology engineers are working with non-food plant materials, such as wood chips, instead of sugarcane or corn.”

Toyota is focusing on bio-fuels for diesel engines, too. For example, Toyota has developed Bio Hydrofined Diesel (BHD) along with Nippon Oil Corporation in Japan.

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