Toyota Unveils Bold New Environmental Targets

The challenge is composed of six individual challenges across three areas: Ever-better cars, ever-better manufacturing, and enriching lives of communities. In addition, as a key step toward achieving these long-term targets, Toyota is announcing its Sixth Toyota Environmental Action Plan, which will be enacted between April 2016 and the end of March 2021.

1. New Vehicles Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge Reducing global average new-vehicle CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050 (compared to Toyota’s 2010 global average)

Key activities and goals at present:
- Achieving annual global sales of over 30,000 fuel cell vehicles around or after 2020. In Japan, selling at least 1,000 fuel cell vehicles per month (well in excess of 10,000 per year)
- Beginning sales of fuel cell buses in small numbers by early 2017, focusing on Tokyo; preparing to sell over 100 fuel cell buses ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo

2. Life Cycle Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge

Completely eliminating all CO2 emissions, including materials, parts and manufacturing, from the vehicle life-cycle.

3. Challenge to achieve Zero CO2 emissions at all plants by 2050

Key activities and goals at present:
-    Cutting production process-related CO2 emissions per vehicle from new plants and new production lines to roughly half of 2001 levels by 2020, and roughly a third by 2030; using renewable energy and hydrogen-based production methods to completely eliminate CO2 emissions by 2050
-    Developing manufacturing technologies that use hydrogen as a power source, and beginning testing on FCV production lines by around 2020

• Using wind power produced on-site at our Tahara Plant by around 2020 
• Ensuring that production process-related CO2 emissions per vehicle manufactured at our new plant in Mexico are at least 40 percent lower than our global 2001 levels when the plant goes online in 2019 
• Using entirely locally-produced renewable electricity at our plants in Brazil from 2015

4. Challenge of Minimizing and Optimizing Water Usage

Enacting effective wastewater management and minimizing water consumption, taking into account the conditions in each country and region.

5. Challenge of Establishing a Recycling-based Society and Systems

Promoting global rollout of end-of-life vehicle treatment and recycling technologies developed in Japan by establishing two recycling projects in 2016

6. Challenge of Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature

Promoting global rollout of conservation activities beyond the Toyota Group and its business partners by establishing three future-oriented global projects in 2016.

1: New Vehicles Zero CO2 Challenge

• Reducing global average new-vehicle CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050 (compared to Toyota’s 2010 global average). Key activities and goals at present:
• Developing next-generation automotive technologies and encouraging their widespread use from the standpoint of energy conservation and diversification of fuel sources
• Reducing global average new-vehicle CO2 emissions by more than 22 percent by 2020 (compared to Toyota’s 2010 global average)

(1) Energy conservation

-    Launching (worldwide, in 2014 and 2015) a new series of 14 engines that achieve top-level thermal efficiency and fuel efficiency improvement of more than 10 percent (JC08 cycle) over current models
-    Developing and launching high-performance powertrains based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), an innovative, integrated, development program for powertrain components and vehicle platforms

• Launching hybrid models in all categories on a global basis; exceeding cumulative sales of 8 million hybrids in July 2015 
• Broadening the appeal of hybrids through improved performance and a broad product lineup; achieving sales of 1.5 million hybrids annually and 15 million hybrids cumulatively by 2020 
• Achieving fuel efficiency of more than 40 km/l* (selected grades) with the new Prius, thanks to a more sophisticated hybrid powertrain and improvements stemming from TNGA

1) Improving electrified powertrains

2) Fostering a hydrogen-based society

-    Launching the hydrogen-powered Mirai in Japan, followed by Europe and the U.S.; promoting widespread use of fuel cell vehicles, including making 5,680 fuel cell patents freely available and collaborating with other automakers to support the development of hydrogen infrastructure
-    Fostering a hydrogen-based society by putting fuel cell vehicles on the road; aiming to achieve annual global sales of over 30,000 fuel cell vehicles—a ten-fold increase from 2017 production volume—around or after 2020; boosting production and improving production technology to meet this dramatic sales increase, and offering a broader lineup

-    Working with governments and infrastructure businesses around the world to promote the growth of hydrogen infrastructure. In Japan, selling at least 1,000 fuel cell vehicles per month (well in excess of 10,000 per year) around or after 2020 to help foster a hydrogen-based society, considering Tokyo’s role as host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics

-    Beginning sales of fuel cell buses in small numbers by early 2017, focusing on Tokyo; preparing to sell over 100 fuel cell buses ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo 
-    Working with other Toyota Group companies and hydrogen infrastructure companies toward using hydrogen to power low-CO2 manufacturing; conducting trials ahead of application and commercialization of such methods

2: Life Cycle Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge

3: Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge

4: Challenge of Minimizing and Optimizing Water Usage

5: Challenge of Establishing a Recycling-Based Society and Systems

6: Challenge of Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature

More information:

Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 website

Sixth Toyota Environmental Action Plan website