“I don’t want to leave any car enthusiast behind,” Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said Friday at the Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan’s Chiba. To this end, the Japanese carmaker is proposing a plan to replace the engines of existing cars with more environmentally friendly alternatives – think of fuel cells and electric motors. The goal is to accelerate the global shift to environmentally friendly vehicles.
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The Associated Press (AP) reports that Toyoda emphasized that Toyota still has the resources and expertise to remain a dominant player in the green vehicle market. Still, he acknowledged that it would take some time before all vehicles are completely emission-free. According to the CEO, upgrading older cars with new technology is an efficient solution.
Toyoda also tried to dispel the idea that green cars are less exciting to drive than traditional petrol cars. To demonstrate Toyota’s commitment to the “conversion” strategy. he presented battery-electric and hydrogen-powered versions of the Toyota AE86 series, including the Toyota Corolla Levin.
As the auto industry undergoes a major transformation due to concerns about climate change, automakers are under increasing pressure to reduce their impact on the environment. Toyoda said that while many countries are beginning to appreciate the auto industry’s progress towards becoming more environmentally friendly, Japan has yet to recognize the value of these efforts.
