Toyota’s Challenge for Sustainable Mobility

Authors

M. Takimoto, Senior Managing Director, Toyota Motor Corporation, Aichi Pref., Japan

Year

2005

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 595

Summary

Automobiles have played an important role in human life since the Industrial Revolution, but the environment surrounding them, such as energy security, global warming, air pollution issue, and vehicle safety, has become increasingly strict. For realizing the sustainable mobility, Toyota’s vision can be summed up in the two words: ”Zeronise & Maximise”. Zeronise embodies the aim to reduce harmful effects of automobiles on environmental issues, such as exhaust emissions and CO2, and traffic accidents to zero, while Maximise embodies the aim to increase emotional richness including comfort, fun, and excitement in the driving automobile to the greatest possible extent. Toyota has been challenging the development of vehicle technology to realize both of these goals at the same time. The technology development in gasoline and diesel engine vehicles, which should be mainstream in foreseeable future, has focused on improving engine performance, achieving clean emissions, and improving fuel economy (reducing CO2 emissions). Various technologies such as variable valve timing (VVT-i), direct injection gasoline engine (D-4), diesel advanced clean system (Toyota D-CAT), and so on, have been introduced into the market. Especially, hybrid technology becomes core for achieving low CO2, thus low fuel consumption and at the same time low pollutant emissions for high air quality. Realizing driving pleasure at the same time as best environmental performance, the Toyota Hybrid System-II (THS-II), represented by the second generation Prius, can be seen as the very symbol of simultaneous realization of the Zeronise & Maximise concept. The ultimate Eco-vehicle is frequently said to be a FCHV, but still several issues remain to be solved for its practical application including the construction of a hydrogen society. In order to achieve the sustainable mobility, responsible manufactures must be proactive instead of relying on a reactive approach as in the past. The key word of proactive is the meaning behind Toyota’s principle “Today for Tomorrow”.

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