NEW YORK, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Toyota's newly published 2004 North American Environmental Report, available today, describes the company's continued improvements in its environmental performance in the 2004 Fiscal Year. Building on the success of the second-generation gasoline-electric Prius, Toyota made progress managing environmental issues across the life cycle of automobile design, production, sales, distribution and recycling.
"Our customers tell us that they are interested in our environmental investments and innovative technologies, provided we meet their price and performance requirements as well," said Hideaki "Harry" Otaka, president of Toyota Motor North America. "That's why we're investing in vehicles that increase efficiency and fuel economy, while lowering emissions," he added. "Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that automobiles continue to power prosperity."
Toyota's Five-Year-Environmental Action Plan lays out goals and targets in five areas, and we are pleased to report the following highlights:
* Design and Development: Toyota announced two new sport utility vehicle
(SUV) hybrids that will be launched in 2005: the Lexus RX 400h and the
Highlander. These will achieve the performance of an SUV with the fuel
economy of a compact car. In addition, Toyota is ahead of the required
compliance schedule for certification of its vehicles to the new Tier 2
and LEV II emission standards.
* Manufacturing: During the past year, our manufacturing plants were
able to achieve reductions in energy use, water use, and emissions of
volatile organic compounds a full two-years ahead of our 5-year action
plan schedule.
* Sales and Distribution: Cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius in North
America stand at well over 100,000 units. Further, our U.S. sales and
distribution activities were achieved with an overall reduction of 1.8%
in GHG emissions -- or over 5,600 metric tons of CO2. Vehicle
distribution centers in both the U.S. and Canada have achieved ISO
14001 certification/registration and a sixth straight year of 100%
compliance with regulations applicable to hazardous materials/dangerous
goods.
* End-of-Life/Recycling: Toyota has made a new commitment to voluntarily
phase out the use of certain substances of concern-such as mercury and
lead -- in all Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold in North America.
The company is also working to achieve a 95% vehicle recovery rate by
FY 2015.
Toyota is working hard to make sustainable mobility a reality, both within the company and with a range of outside partners, with technical improvements and technology breakthroughs, globally and in North America.
To review the full Toyota North America Environmental Report, please visit http://www.toyota.com/about/environment/news/enviroreport.html.