Toyota aims to become "technology open" climate neutral in Europe by 2040

The Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota aims to become climate-neutral in Europe more quickly, which is now targeted for 2040. This ambitious goal was announced during the annual Kenshiki Forum, where more than 250 media representatives were provided insights into the brand's strategy and plans. Currently, Toyota is heavily focused on hybrid propulsion and is only gradually entering the battery-electric propulsion field.

"Our focus in Europe is on two areas: climate neutrality and how we achieve it across all our business areas, as well as the transition to a holistic mobility service provider and the related future mobility," explained Matt Harrison, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe (TME).

All new vehicles in the European Union (EU), in the United Kingdom, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland should be emission-free by 2035. The European production sites are even expected to operate climate-neutral by 2030. The company is relying on various measures for this, such as minimizing energy demand, switching to renewable sources, and implementing so-called Kaizen innovations, which further minimize or entirely eliminate CO2 emissions.

"At our engine plant in Deeside, UK, we have installed solar panels equivalent to the area of ten football fields. Additionally, we recycle more than 90 percent of our waste, so we expect to achieve climate neutrality by 2025," explained Marvin Cooke, Executive Vice President Manufacturing at TME.

The bigger challenges by 2040, however, lie outside of TME's direct control – for example, in the upstream supply and logistics chain. Nevertheless, the company intends to tackle them in close cooperation with partners and suppliers, Cooke assured.

To meet the diverse needs and desires of customers in different markets, the company pursues a technology-open approach worldwide. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles are offered as well as pure electric cars and fuel cell vehicles. This diversity is crucial, according to the Japanese, to reduce CO2 emissions over the next ten to fifteen years, arguing with scarce and expensive battery materials and a lack of infrastructure.

"We must do what is best for the environment: extract the maximum CO2 reduction from each battery cell produced by replacing as many non-electrified vehicles as possible with electrified ones. We are guided by a simple principle: CO2 is the enemy, not a particular powertrain," advocated Gill Pratt, Chief Scientist of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO of the Toyota Research Institute.

This year, 2022, the company is expected to sell around 1.1 million vehicles in Europe. In a total market that is down by twelve percent, this comparatively small sales increase over the previous year has a significant impact: the European market share climbs by 0.9 points to a record level of 7.3 percent. A growth driver is the electrified models, which account for 66 percent and thus two-thirds of total sales.

Woven Planet as a Pioneer

The transformation from a pure automobile manufacturer to a holistic mobility service provider is under the concept of Woven Planet: "Mobility to Love, Safety to Live." New software platforms and tools, processes, and a cultural shift towards software-defined development are being created for Toyota. The provision of software will improve productivity by enabling the scalability and reuse of code for hundreds of Toyota and Lexus models, outlines James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet Holdings and Chief Digital Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation.