Toyota is passionate about the environment and reducing our impact. Our drive for continuous improvement of society is built into our DNA, and as a leader in electrified vehicles, it’s who we are as a company. The 179,000 Americans who support their families working for Toyota and our dealerships feel the same way. Toyota supports year-over-year improvements in fuel economy that provide meaningful benefits to our climate, while better aligning with what consumers want. That’s why we remain committed to be an industry leader in the development of vehicles that help reduce greenhouse gases.

Toyota entered into this legal action not as a plaintiff or a defendant, and not to favor any political party.  Toyota is intervening to impact how emissions standards are applied.  We want to help forge a sustainable compromise for consumers and the environment. Without joining this legal action, we would have no ability to affect the outcome.

We do not believe that there should be different fuel economy standards in different states.  There should be one standard for all Americans and all auto companies. That is why we decided to be part of this legal matter.  Doing so does not diminish our commitment to the environment, nor does it lower our desire to manufacture vehicles that produce fewer emissions year-after-year.

Multiple standards will result in higher vehicle prices. And if vehicle prices increase, consumers are more likely to keep older, less efficient cars longer. We can do more to reduce greenhouse gases by focusing on the 250 million vehicles already on the road today. We need to encourage consumers to trade in older, less efficient vehicles for newer vehicles that have higher fuel economy and therefore emit fewer greenhouse gases. We won’t be able to do that if prices are beyond what people are willing to or can afford.

We’re proud of our history of environmental achievements and progress. Since 2000 here in the U.S., we’ve sold over 3.6 million hybrids which have saved over 7.6 billion gallons of fuel and kept over 68 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent to taking 13.4 million vehicles off the road for a year. Currently, 11 percent of our sales consist of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles—that’s three times the industry average. We sell more alternative powertrain vehicles than the rest of the industry combined. And we’re working on increasing these numbers. By 2020, our plan goes up to 15 percent of our sales and by 2025, that number jumps to 25 percent, or one of every four vehicles sold.

We’re proud that our North America Headquarters in Plano, Texas, our Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center in Georgetown, Kentucky and our Supplier Center in York Township, Michigan were all certified LEED Platinum, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating.

Lastly, we would like to share Toyota’s environmental sustainability position in North America as part of our 2050 Global Environmental Challenge, our latest environmental report and other examples of our efforts. To find out more, please click on this link.

Originally published on October 29, 2019.