Local boss says his brand needs to set ambitious goals in its response to climate change.

LIFE cycle emissions from the vehicles it sells will factor into a commitment from the brand dominating the national new passenger and light commercial sectors.

Central to Toyota New Zealand’s annual Sustainability Report is commitment to reduce its total carbon emissions by a minimum of 46 percent by 2030 – the reduction compared with 2019 levels, which were higher than it now achieves.

The Palmerston North operation contends it is the first automotive company in New Zealand to include life cycle tailpipe emissions from vehicles sold in its target.

What it is calling a ‘science-aligned emissions target’ includes used vehicles it imports through the Signature Class channel as well as new product. It appears to also include the marque’s luxury brand, Lexus, now heavily involved with hybrid technology, including plug-in types. And, unlike Toyota NZ, Lexus has a full electric product for sale here.

A policy it says aligns with the United Nations’ Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, a crucial threshold.

TNZ, which has already committed to Government’s Clean Car strategy for stepped annual reductions in CO2 output from vehicles (a policy whose next step of penalties for importers of high CO2 vehicles has been criticised in other industry quarters), says life cycle emissions from vehicles account for 86 percent of its annual direct and indirect emissions.

In comment shared to media today, Neeraj Lala (above), Toyota New Zealand’s chief executive officer, says his brand needs to set ambitious goals as part of its response to climate change, contributing to the company’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon by 2050.

Including lifetime emissions of a vehicle is about the company’s accountability regarding climate change across its local value chain.

“We are all in this together,” Lala said.

“Our responsibility as a Kiwi brand and a market leader is to reduce not only our own emissions, but also help our supply and value chains, and customers to make a positive contribution.

“Our greatest challenge is reaching our net zero carbon goals while maintaining mobility for all — where no Kiwi is left behind by providing affordable, accessible, and safe mobility for all.”

The electric vehicle market is booming and Toyota Japan, which says it committed to carbon neutrality, has come under considerable criticism, here and overseas, from sceptics who cite it as being slow to embrace fully electric in its products.

Instead, it has primarily been the world leader in petrol electric drivetrains, which it historically has argued are more relevant and effective for now, with a longer term interest in hydrogen fuel cell.

TNZ has been trialling Toyota’s fuel cell car, the Mirai (above), in Auckland with selected users for months.

Industry-wide EV sales have run well beyond Toyota's projections; the rate of acceptance in NZ is higher than it believed would occur.

Sign of greater brand interest in EV came last December when the parent showed off a broad suite of electric products, spanning numerous market segments, it suggests are coming into production.

However, in October reports emerged that it now considering a reboot of that $38 billion EV strategy, and has suspended work on 30 existing projects. That has led to conjecture the rollout of EVs already on the drawing board could slow, though it would also give Toyota a chance to compete with a more efficient manufacturing process.

Even so, Toyota NZ has previously said it will have an electric car, the BZ4X (below) co-developed with Subaru, on sale in NZ next year, with Lexus concurrently adding the twinned RZ, to place alongside its current sole full electric offer, the UX300e.

Meantime, it has continued to add more hybrid models – the latest being the Corolla Cross, which only sells in petrol electric – and has been restricting supply of high CO2 products, when possible. The Land Cruiser 300 Series and its Lexus LX twin appear to be examples of that, likewise the GR 86 sports car, but not the Hilux utility, a big volume model.

Today TNZ said that by the end of the year, 67 percent of its passenger vehicles will have an “electrified option” – in hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or battery electric.

It also emphasised that Toyota Japan “has a further 15 all-electric battery models in the pipeline for production by 2025.”

In respect to its national CO2 reduction plan, Lala said: “A 46 percent emissions reduction by 2030 is a lofty target and represents a major step forward … on our path towards net zero carbon by 2050. There are challenges ahead for our business, but we're also excited by the possibilities this presents to innovate.”

“Toyota was built on the Japanese principle of Kaizen, which means continuous improvement. We recognise that capturing data and measuring correctly is critical and we are committing to applying kaizen regarding our data sources. This means that we know and accept that our data will always be improving.”

Toyota insists its hybrid powertrains have been responsible for significant reductions in the lifecycle footprint of Toyota vehicles, to the tune of 160 million tons of CO2 emissions avoided globally.

In the 12 months between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022, Toyota New Zealand reported total emissions of 1,553,378 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), with 1,310,799 tCO2e of those resulting from the full lifetime emissions of 36,342 new and used vehicles sold during the year.

Toyota New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets are part of reporting and goal setting contained in its annual Sustainability Report, which focuses on outcomes related to the three pathways of Toyota’s latest brand vision, announced several months ago, called ‘Let’s Go Places’.

This focuses on environmental sustainability, mobility for all and community social impact.

Lala says Let’s Go Places represents Toyota New Zealand’s long-term vision, which is to morph from being an automotive brand into a mobility company.

“It is not reliant on a single outcome on its own but articulates the interconnectedness of multiple solutions working together in unison.

“Let’s Go Places is about bringing Aotearoa with us. To become net zero carbon will require us to fundamentally change the way we live, and to transform the automotive industry.”

He cites the 2022 report as being “a powerful signifier of some far-reaching changes to the way we do business in the future.”