Photo: Toyota
Toyota Motor Europe’s (TME) annual Kenshiki presentation included some big news from the Japanese automaker. The event happened last week in Brussels and details are just now emerging as to what was disclosed to more than 250 media folks. High brass from different divisions of the company took turns outlining the company's plans as it drives toward total carbon neutrality by 2040.
A 100% reduction of CO2 in Toyota's new vehicles in the EU, UK, and European Free Trade Association was the theme hammered home by President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, Matt Harrison. In addition, he outlined how the company was transitioning from a manufacturing and sales entity to one that provides mobility services.
It was then European Vice President of Manufacturing Marvin Cooke's turn to explain how all of the company's European manufacturing facilities would be carbon-neutral by 2030. To achieve this, the company will reduce overall energy consumption, switch to green energy and implement continuous improvement innovations (kaizen) to reduce its carbon footprint.
He said: “At our engine plant in Deeside in the UK we have installed solar panels equivalent to 10 football pitches in size while recycling more than 90 per cent of the waste the site produces to generate green energy. We expect to be carbon neutral as early as 2025. Where activities outside our direct control, such as upstream supply and logistics, the challenge is greater and one we will achieve in close collaboration with our partners and suppliers.”
Toyota is relying on hard science to tailor its approach to decarbonization that includes the use of a multitude of electrified technologies and the optimizing and utilization of scarce resources. The company acknowledgesc that the combination of battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles would be the path forward for the next 10 to 15 years, based on the scarcity and high cost of battery componenents.
Dr. Gill Pratt, Chief Scientist of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO of Toyota Research Institute said, “We must do what is best for the environment, which is to extract the most carbon reduction from each battery cell produced, replacing as many non-electrified vehicles as possible with electrified ones, guided by the simple principle that carbon is the enemy, not any particular powertrain.”
Toyota has enjoyed a record increase to 7.3% in market share in Europe despite a 12% overall decline in the European market. The company credits its diverse electrified model range for generating 66% of the company's total sales.
Woven Plant, a Toyota subsidiary that focuses on investing in innovative technologies such as software, has three main focal points; Mobility of People, Mobility of Goods and Mobility of Information.
As explained by Dr. James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet Holdings and Chief Digital Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, “We are creating new software platforms and tools, processes and a culture shift to software-defined development for Toyota. This will improve productivity by delivering software that allows for scalability and the reuse of code across hundreds of Toyota and Lexus models,” he said.
Arene means 'Software First' and is the process of designing software architecture before hardware development, providing a platform for implementing Toyota’s Software Defined Architecture (SDA).
Automated Driving and Advanced Safety or ADAS responsible for the continuous development of a formation enhanced safety and automated driving systems in support of Toyota Teammate and Lexus Teammate Guardian approach to ADAS.
Woven City, currently under construction in the shadows of Mount Fuji in Japan, will play a critical role as a proving ground for the acceleration of the development of mobility technology, smart agriculture, clean energy and healthy living, all powered by software with security and privacy built-in to its design, according to Kuffner.
It was then European Vice President of Manufacturing Marvin Cooke's turn to explain how all of the company's European manufacturing facilities would be carbon-neutral by 2030. To achieve this, the company will reduce overall energy consumption, switch to green energy and implement continuous improvement innovations (kaizen) to reduce its carbon footprint.
He said: “At our engine plant in Deeside in the UK we have installed solar panels equivalent to 10 football pitches in size while recycling more than 90 per cent of the waste the site produces to generate green energy. We expect to be carbon neutral as early as 2025. Where activities outside our direct control, such as upstream supply and logistics, the challenge is greater and one we will achieve in close collaboration with our partners and suppliers.”
Toyota is relying on hard science to tailor its approach to decarbonization that includes the use of a multitude of electrified technologies and the optimizing and utilization of scarce resources. The company acknowledgesc that the combination of battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles would be the path forward for the next 10 to 15 years, based on the scarcity and high cost of battery componenents.
Dr. Gill Pratt, Chief Scientist of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO of Toyota Research Institute said, “We must do what is best for the environment, which is to extract the most carbon reduction from each battery cell produced, replacing as many non-electrified vehicles as possible with electrified ones, guided by the simple principle that carbon is the enemy, not any particular powertrain.”
Toyota has enjoyed a record increase to 7.3% in market share in Europe despite a 12% overall decline in the European market. The company credits its diverse electrified model range for generating 66% of the company's total sales.
Woven Plant, a Toyota subsidiary that focuses on investing in innovative technologies such as software, has three main focal points; Mobility of People, Mobility of Goods and Mobility of Information.
As explained by Dr. James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet Holdings and Chief Digital Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, “We are creating new software platforms and tools, processes and a culture shift to software-defined development for Toyota. This will improve productivity by delivering software that allows for scalability and the reuse of code across hundreds of Toyota and Lexus models,” he said.
Arene means 'Software First' and is the process of designing software architecture before hardware development, providing a platform for implementing Toyota’s Software Defined Architecture (SDA).
Automated Driving and Advanced Safety or ADAS responsible for the continuous development of a formation enhanced safety and automated driving systems in support of Toyota Teammate and Lexus Teammate Guardian approach to ADAS.
Woven City, currently under construction in the shadows of Mount Fuji in Japan, will play a critical role as a proving ground for the acceleration of the development of mobility technology, smart agriculture, clean energy and healthy living, all powered by software with security and privacy built-in to its design, according to Kuffner.
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