Toyota to Beef up Green Vehicle Lineup

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting its green vehicle lineup, with plans for 21 new hybrids in the next three years, a new electric car later this year and a fuel cell vehicle by 2015 in response to growing demand for fuel efficient and environmentally friendly driving.

Toyota said Monday it will offer an electric compact called eQ, based on its iQ model, in Japan and the U.S. in December though the number of the vehicles made will be extremely limited — about 100 for special fleet use, according to the company. The car, which will be called the iQ EV in the U.S, is priced at 3.6 million yen ($45,000) and has a limited cruise range of around 100 kilometers or 62 miles.

In the U.S., an electric version of the Rav-4 sport utility model, which Toyota worked on with U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, goes on sale this month.

The fuel cell vehicle, which runs on hydrogen to produce electricity, will be offered from 2015. Details for that model were not released.

Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is gearing up for expansion after getting battered the last few years by the financial crisis and disasters in northeastern Japan and Thailand that disrupted production.

The manufacturer is also counting on its reputation for green technology that it has built with its hit Prius, the world’s leading gas-electric hybrid, to woo buyers.

But rivals are working on green offerings, too, such as Nissan Motor Co. focusing on its Leaf electric car. Another challenge is that customers in emerging markets, which are driving growth in demand for autos, are still not as interested in hybrids and other fancy — and expensive — technology.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, the executive overseeing technology and new model development at Toyota, said the long-term potential for fuel cells was great, compared to electric cars, because of greater cruise range and shorter charging time. He said tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles were likely to get sold in the 2020s.

A good compromise at the moment is the plug-in hybrid, which works as an electric vehicle until the battery runs down, and then switches to its hybrid motor, so there’s less chance of being stranded than with a standard electric car. Toyota has sold 15,600 of its plug-in vehicle since launching it earlier this year.

Uchiyamada said the positive reception for new technology, such as the hybrid, surprised Toyota, underlining the deep interest the public has in reducing emissions and protecting the environment.

Although annual hybrid sales were tiny when the Prius first went on sale in 1997, such sales have grown to more than one million a year worldwide, comprising 10 percent of Toyota’s global sales.

In Japan, where green subsidies have been a big plus in recent years, hybrids make up nearly half Toyota’s sales, Uchiyamada, the engineer known as “the father of the Prius,” said.

“The public’s consciousness is a lot higher than we ever imagined,” he said.

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Team Toyota: Who Makes These Great Cars?

For a Japanese automaker, Toyota sure does make a lot of cars in the United States. Toyota has been involved in the United States automotive market for more than 55 years and over that time, the car maker has made a positive impact in the U.S. economy. In the automotive industry, almost every car produced has parts manufactured all over the globe, but Toyota is one of the global manufacturing companies that has made a significant investment in the United States, when so many manufacturers have left the company.

Manufacturing Plants in the United States

Toyota has manufacturing plants in the United States, where they build nine popular models. The factories are located in Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Mississippi. Sienna, Sequoia, Highlander, and Camry are manufactured in Indiana. The Avalon, Camry Hybrid, and Venza are manufactured in Kentucky. In Texas, the Tundra and Tacoma trucks are made and the Corolla is made in Mississippi. Some of these models have been made in the United States since the first Toyota plant was constructed in 1998. Almost every state has either a dealership, a financial services office, a manufacturing or supplier plant, an R&D office, or another role in the manufacturing of Toyotas.

Environmental Concern Beyond the Prius

As the creator and manufacture of the Prius, Toyota has shown the world that they care about the environment. Most people do not realize that Toyota does not just build one top Hybrid vehicle, but eleven different Hybrids. Toyota does not just build environmentally friendly cars, but they are also committed to creating green factories and dealerships, like the only LEED certified dealership in the world built in Eugene, Oregon. Ten of the Toyota facilities around North America have also received LEED certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and there are rigid standards that buildings must meet to earn this high honor.

Safety and Security

Toyota is not only committed to the environment, but to the people who drive their cars, too. Today’s cars are safer than any other time in automotive history, but many children still die in car accidents because they are not seated in safe car seats. In Cincinnati, Toyota joined forces with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to help get children from families in the lower socio-economic groups to get their children into car seats and seat belts. The project, called Buckle Up For Life, was so successful in Cincinnati that it has spread to other large cities around the country, like Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.

Safety Research Facilities

Not only is Toyota committed to making sure that children are safe on the roads, but they are committed to ensuring safety across the board. Toyota has invested more than $50 million to create the Collaborative Safety Research Center which looks at accident data to collaborate with hospitals, research universities, federal agencies, and more to build the safest vehicles on the road. Their founding partners include The University of Michigan, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Virginia Tech.

Job Creators for Americans

Most people today hear all about the job losses, but they rarely hear about job creation. In Blue Springs, Mississippi, the newest Toyota Plant will create 2,000 new jobs by the time is full of employees in 2012. The plant is expected to create up to 150,000 Toyota Corollas each year with this $800 million investment in this small town near Tupelo. The plant is about the size of 45 football fields, but the plant is a “zero-landfill” building, so that it will reuse everything and leave nothing in landfills; this also shows how committed Toyota is to protecting the environment.

Research, Development, and Philanthropy

Toyota not only has manufacturing facilities all over the Midwest and Southern states, but they also have a variety of other facilities all over the United States. Toyota is extremely proud of the fact that the company spends over $1 million each hour on research and development. Whether the R&D dollars are spent on safety, the environment, or anything else, the fact that Toyota spends that money at facilities in the United States is quite amazing. Toyota also spend a very large amount on philanthropic foundations; they have spent over $595 million donating that money to education foundations, medical foundations, and so much more.

One of the most amazing and fun creations from Toyota’s Research and Development efforts includes the THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety). This is simulation software that is used to measure injuries that occur in the human body. Crash test dummies do not have internal organs, ligaments, muscle or bones, so there is no way to tell how much damage is done to the human body during crash tests. So, to increase knowledge, Toyota created this technology and they have shared it with other car companies and even with colleges and universities, like Wake Forest where they are using THUMS to understand what happens to football players when they are hurt when they are tackled.

http://www.toyotaplace.com/blog/