Toyota presents new battery and fuel cell electric vehicles (pics)

Toyota presented an expanded line-up of future battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at Toyota Motor Europe’s (TME) 2023 Kenshiki forum in Brussels recently, as it forges ahead with its multi-pathway strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.

A team of global and European executives presented the company’s latest electrified products and technologies to an audience of more than 300 media representatives, focusing on the battery electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles which will play a significant role in the company’s multi pathway strategy in the years ahead.

Speaking at Kenshiki, Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer, Head of Design, Toyota Motor Corporation, explained: “For us, what mobility really comes down to is freedom. With freedom comes opportunity, and at Toyota, we believe that everyone should have access to the opportunity that mobility provides, wherever in the world they live, whatever the situation and leaving no one behind.”

Toyota’s ‘multi-pathway’ strategy confirms this thinking, where low and zero emission mobility solutions are designed to meet specific regional needs; products which satisfy customer demand or are relevant to their local infrastructure while remaining accessible so that no one is left behind on the journey to carbon neutrality, he said.

Humphries presented several concept models which will spearhead Lexus and Toyota’s next generation battery electric vehicles. He explained how the new modular design architecture, combining gigacast chassis, components minimisation, and the new Arene operating system, will enable design freedom to elevate the entire user experience.

The future Toyota and Lexus battery electric vehicles presented at Kenshiki are intended to appear on European roads in the coming years – including the Lexus LF-ZC, Toyota FT-Se Toyota FT-3e, Toyota Sport Crossover concept and the Toyota Urban SUV concept. TME announced last year its goal of achieving full carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040.

SBTi Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality will be achieved in its European operations and manufacturing facilities by 2030, the company said.

For Scope 3, Toyota said it will achieve 100% CO2 reduction in new vehicles sales in 2035 and by 2040, full carbon neutrality in value chain and logistics – where TME is already making progress by starting to use hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks on its four key logistics routes from Belgium to Germany, France and Netherlands.

Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Europe, commenting on TME’s mid-term product launch plan, stated that “while we will continue to offer multiple carbon reduction technologies, we will also steadily increase the number of zero-emissions vehicles we offer to customers”.

In Europe, Toyota’s electrified mix is already at 71% and is expected to grow to 75% in 2024. This, it said, will further expand with new battery electric vehicles playing an increasingly significant role in its sales volumes.

By 2026, TME will offer around 15 different zero emission vehicles under the Toyota brand, from passenger cars to light commercial vehicles. At this time, Toyota’s European BEV mix is expected to be more than 20% with more than 250,000 vehicle sales per annum, it said.

Matt Harrison, COO, Toyota Motor Europe highlighted that up to 10 hydrogen applications will be in operation at Paris 2024. Toyota, as the worldwide mobility partner of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, will provide a passenger vehicle fleet of more than 2,650 electrified vehicles and 700 electric last-mile mobility solutions. 

Harrison explained that among these solutions are 250 Accessible People Movers (APMs), redesigned for Paris 2024 and built in Europe, to better meet local requirements for Paris: “The vehicle is designed to offer last-mile service and transport people with accessibility needs. After the Games, the fleet of APMs will form part of our sustainable legacy for Paris.” 

(Source & Photos: media.toyota.co.uk)