Toyota Responds to Prius Environmental Critics

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When the hybrid Toyota Prius landed on American shores at the turn of the millennium, it quickly became the symbol of the green car movement in America. With fuel economy ratings that topped nearly all of its rivals, the Prius offered drivers a path to low operating costs and a smaller environmental footprint. Better fuel economy leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Since then, Toyota has sold more than five million hybrid vehicles in the United States and more than 20 million worldwide. The Prius is available in traditional hybrid and plug-in hybrid models.

The fifth generation of the Prius and plug-in Prius Prime debuted at the 2022 Los Angeles International Auto Show. With a new design, more power and improved fuel economy, it was widely praised by the automotive press. No longer sporting a polarizing design, the new Prius seemed to lose its history as the automotive industry’s punchline.

But not everyone was so nice.

In a market rapidly moving towards electric cars (BEVs), several environmental groups have criticized Toyota for not moving to full electrification as quickly as they would like.

Toyota, for example, continues to promote a false image of itself as a leader in sustainability and yet the automaker is relaunching the Prius and selling its gas-powered Tacomas and Tundras in droves, says Katherine Garca, manager of the Sierra Clubs Clean Campaign Transport for all. We need all automakers to stop producing fossil fuel vehicles and do everything they can to urgently protect our communities from climate and air pollution.

While it’s true that Toyota is lagging the industry in electric vehicle sales, it stems from a strategy with broader goals. Instead of focusing solely on BEVs, Toyota is taking a portfolio approach with fully battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and cars, trucks, minivans and traditional hybrid SUVs.

The company took advantage of the Washington, D.C. auto shows public policy day to address the criticism.

It’s about reducing carbon. It’s not about who can produce the most BEVs, said Jason Keller, director of dealer policy in Toyota Motor North America’s office of government affairs. What is the goal ? We believe we can do it better, more efficiently, with less environmental impact and less cost with hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electrics.

Keller used a wheelbarrow metaphor to explain the company’s philosophy.

Imagine a wheelbarrow full of 500 pounds of cobalt, nickel, manganese, all the valuable minerals the rocks needed to build a BEV, he said. When supply is limited, we have to be smart to optimize what we are going to build, to build the best number of batteries to produce the least amount of carbon.

This wheelbarrow full of rocks can produce a 300-mile BEV or six Prius Primes or RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrids. They can travel 40 to 50 miles on all electric vehicles, which is more than most people drive per day, Keller said. Or we can build 90 Priuses with exponentially greater impact by taking 90 traditional ICE vehicles off the road.

Keller explained that the strategy has far more impact on reducing carbon emissions than taking a non-hybrid internal combustion vehicle off the road with just one electric car sale.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

That’s not the only strength of Toyota’s portfolio approach to a greener fleet. With the average electric vehicle costing over $50,000, affordability is an issue.

Customer affordability needs to improve,” says Keller. The average middle earner can’t afford it.

According to the company, Toyota’s approach allows them to be flexible in the range of vehicles they sell, and it looks like they are ready to transition to full electric vehicles sooner than they previously announced. barely a year ago. According to Reuters, the company has shelved plans presented last year, in a bid to increase the pace of electric vehicle rollouts.

We Toyota support the administration’s climate goals and were really excited about this transition to an all-electric future, said Rick Gezelle, Toyota’s senior regulatory affairs engineer. However, the pace of this transition is what is really at issue. It won’t be driven so much by the need for vehicle-based development. Rather, it will be when these electric vehicles are able to achieve a level of affordability and convenience demanded by mainstream customers.

You can read more about all the electric cars coming to the US market in our guide to future electric vehicles.

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