Environmental Record
Toyota has been a leader in environmentally friendly vehicle technologies, most notably the RAV4 EV (produced from 1997 to 2003) and the Toyota Prius (1997 to present). Toyota is now working on their next generation Prius and second generation RAV4 EV both due out in 2012.
Toyota implemented its Fourth Environmental Action Plan in 2005. The plan contains four major themes involving the environment and the corporation's development, design, production, and sales. The five-year plan is directed at the, "arrival of a revitalized recycling-based society." Toyota had previously released its Eco-Vehicle Assessment System (Eco-VAS) which is a systematic life cycle assessment of the effect a vehicle will have on the environment including production, usage, and disposal. The assessment includes, "... fuel efficiency, emissions and noise during vehicle use, the disposal recovery rate, the reduction of substances of environmental concern, and CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the vehicle from production to disposal." 2008 marks the ninth year for Toyota's Environmental Activities Grant Program which has been implemented every year since 2000. Themes of the 2008 program consist of "Global Warming Countermeasures" and "Biodiversity Conservation."
Since October 2006, Toyota's new Japanese-market vehicle models with automatic transmissions are equipped with an Eco Drive Indicator. The system takes into consideration rate of acceleration, engine and transmission efficiency, and speed. When the vehicle is operated in a fuel-efficient manner, the Eco Drive Indicator on the instrument panel, lights up. Individual results vary depending on traffic issues, starting and stopping the vehicle, and total distance traveled, but the Eco Drive Indicator may improve fuel efficiency by as much as 4%. Along with Toyota's eco-friendly objectives on production and use, the company plans to donate US$1 million and five vehicles to the Everglades National Park. The money will be used to fund environmental programs at the park. This donation is part of a program which provides US$5 million and 23 vehicles for five national parks and the National Parks Foundation. However new figures from the United States National Research Council show that the continuing hidden health costs of the auto industry to the US economy in 2005 amounted to US$56 million.
The United States EPA has awarded Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc (TEMA) with an ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in 2007, 2008 and 2009
In 2007, Toyota's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fleet average of 26.69 mpg (8.813 L/100 km; 32.05 mpg) exceeded all other major manufactures selling cars within the United States. Only Lotus Cars, which sold the Elise and Exige (powered by Toyota's 2ZZ-GE engine), did better with an average of 30.2 mpg (7.79 L/100 km; 36.3 mpg).
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