Toyota Calls For A Safe, Affordable And Accessible Transition To A Low Emissions Transport Sector

Toyota New Zealand is focused on providing low emissions mobility for all New Zealanders, leaving no customer behind, as presented to the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee by CEO Neeraj Lala on Monday afternoon.

Mr Lala says Toyota supports the Government’s transition to a low emissions economy and is keen to work in close collaboration to achieve this.

“There is no silver bullet when it comes to reducing transport sector emissions, we believe in investing in new technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, car sharing, and Mobility as a Service, all as ways of lowering emissions and reducing transport congestion.

“Our challenge when it comes to transitioning to a low carbon transport future is availability of product, affordability to everyday Kiwis, and maintaining high standards of safety technology that is critical for our local road conditions,” he says.

To achieve New Zealand’s climate change targets for the transport sector the country needs stable policy that sets achievable emissions targets.

“The 105g targets, presented by the Climate Change Commission and in the Emissions Reduction Plan, are consistent with the communication we’ve had over the past two years, while the 63g presented came as a surprise, he says.

Toyota has already achieved a 14% emissions reduction from its fleet in the past five years, and we’re targeting a 17% reduction in the next five. It has achieved this reduction by selling more hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) – 11,000 in 2021 – and more vehicles with fuel efficient powertrains.

The New Zealand light vehicle market is unique in that it imports around 300,000 vehicles every year with around half being used imports and half new vehicles. We are well positioned to tailor our strategy to meet our communities’ specific needs.

“The future is unpredictable, so it’s important we focus on a variety of solutions to lower emissions,” says Mr Lala. “We see a range of options to leave no customer behind on our pathway to lower emissions.”

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