Toyota sells 15 hybrids daily

Toyota is focussing on offering a hybrid version for its entire range, new battery electric vehicles, as well as investing in hydrogen fuel cell technology.

So says its New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala, adding the company aims to reduce greenhouse gases from its manufacturing processes through to its product offering.

“It’s satisfying to report that the high number of hybrids sold is helping Toyota achieve two objectives – reducing our overall emissions as a brand and helping us support the New Zealand Government’s target to reduce gross carbon emissions by 30% by 2030,” he says.

Toyota is one of the biggest players in the hybrid vehicle market, selling one about 15 times daily on average.

Hybrid sales by the auto maker increased from 1337 in 2017 to 5159 in 2019 and are on track to increase further in 2020 with 3627 sold by the end of July.

So why aren’t non plug-in hybrids included in New Zealand’s official EV statistics?

“I guess the reason is pretty simple,” Drive Electric chair Mark Gilbert says.

The Ministry of Transport defines an EV as one requiring plug-in charging capability and it produces the sales data online, he adds.

“I recognise that a hybrid is self-sufficient in this respect and at Drive Electric we are energy agnostic.

“If it’s decarbonising New Zealand then that is helpful.”

Gilbert points out the United Kingdom includes non plug-in hybrids in its intention to ban fossil fuelled cars from 2032.

“Hence we have also used the MoT definition believing it was the New Zealand position.

“But Toyota does lead the way in decarbonising the New Zealand fleet, being the largest importer of new and used vehicles and the biggest player in the hybrid vehicle market.”

Overall, the emissions profile of the Toyota and Lexus model range sold annually in New Zealand has been dropping, with another 0.6% drop in the six months to July 2020, Toyota says.

Combined, the average Toyota and Lexus carbon dioxide emissions profile year-to-date (YTD) was 167.5 CO2g/km while the industry average across all manufacturers is 175.9g/km YTD, it adds.

This month’s introduction of the 2020 Toyota Yaris with a hybrid powertrain will further reduce Toyota’s fleet emissions profile.

“CO2 reductions are a journey for Toyota and our customers,” Lala says. “This is why hybrids help us achieve reductions as we transition to alternatives when supply, infrastructure, and demand is ready.

“The customer transition has been more evident as the new generation of hybrid has the capability to outperform traditional petrol alternatives.”

In New Zealand, demand for the 2019 RAV4 Hybrid has been outstripping supply, 8313 selling since March 2019.

Sales of that hybrid have been rising steadily, Toyota selling 2141 RAV4 Hybrids in the first seven months of 2020.

Beverage supplier Frucor Suntory is replacing its entire sales vehicle fleet across Australia and New Zealand with them, allowing savings of about 300 tonnes of emissions annually.

“Things like replacing our entire sales fleet with low-emissions vehicles not only help us to reduce our carbon footprint, they are also sound business decisions that help to reduce overall costs,” Frucor Suntory sustainability head Ben Walkley says.

In July 2019, the Griffin’s Food Company decided to adopt a Toyota hybrid fleet for its vehicle eligible employees.

A spokesperson says its fleet’s total CO2 emissions have reduced by about 18%.

Silver Fern Farms has 39 Toyota RAV4 Hybrids. The company says moving vehicles to hybrids is a small part of its verified emissions reduction plan.

Hybrid systems employed by Toyota use advanced technology to capture energy from braking and from the petrol engine and store it as electricity in a battery.

The car decides for itself when it needs electric power or conventional power. Driving at low speed in heavy traffic or around a car park, it will automatically shift to electric only. The petrol engine also automatically shuts off when the vehicle stops rolling or is using the battery.

The extra technology makes the hybrid more expensive to build, but Toyota says it has kept the price differential between a petrol and hybrid versions minimal.