Toyota plans to go almost 100% gasoline free by 2050
Toyota announced yesterday that it is planning to reduce the carbon emissions of its vehicles to near zero within the next 35 years. Basically, the plan is to eliminate all CO2 emissions, including materials, parts and manufacturing, from the vehicle lifecycle, and develop manufacturing technologies that use hydrogen as a power source. Furthermore, the company declared its goal to sell 30,000 of its fuel-cell Mirai automobiles by 2020. Toyota promised to involve governments, affiliated companies and other stakeholders in its push to reduce average emissions from Toyota cars by at least 90% by about 2050, compared with 2010 levels. 
"You may think 35 years is a long time," Senior Managing Officer Kiyotaka Ise told reporters. "But for an automaker to envision all combustion engines as gone is pretty extraordinary." Ise acknowledged some gasoline engine cars would remain in less developed markets, but only in small numbers.

As a key step toward achieving these long-term targets, Toyota is announcing its Sixth Toyota Environmental Action Plan, which will be enacted between April 2016 and the end of March 2021.

Addressing key global environmental issues such as climate change, water shortages, resource depletion, and degradation of biodiversity, the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 aims to reduce the negative impact of manufacturing and driving vehicles as much as possible. The challenge comprises six individual challenges across three areas: Ever-better cars, quantified as reducing global average new-vehicle CO 2 emissions by 90% by 2050 compared to Toyota’s 2010 global average; ever-better manufacturing (zero CO 2 emissions at all plants by 2050); and enriching the lives of communities.

Ever better cars. Among the key activities and goals in this area at present are:

Achieving annual global sales of more than 30,000 fuel cell vehicles around or after 2020. In Japan, selling at least 1,000 fuel cell vehicles per month (well in excess of 10,000 per year).

Beginning sales of fuel cell buses in small numbers by early 2017, focusing on Tokyo; preparing to sell over 100 fuel cell buses ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.

Achieving sales of 1.5 million hybrids annually and 15 million hybrids cumulatively by 2020.

Reducing average CO 2 emissions from new vehicles by more than 22 percent by 2020 (compared to Toyota’s 2010 global average).

Pushing for further advances related to electrified powertrains in order to develop next-generation models; promoting development of next-generation batteries, such as solid-state batteries that have higher energy density, easier increase in voltage and excellent high-temperature durability, in order to improve the range of EVs and the electric range of PHVs.



Promoting the downsizing and improvement of power control units in hybrids and PHVs, etc.; focusing development resources on the commercial application of silicon carbide power semiconductors (jointly developed with Denso Corporation and Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc.) that can improve the fuel efficiency of hybrids by 10 percent.



Toyota is also seeking to eliminate all CO 2 emissions, including materials, parts and manufacturing, from the vehicle lifecycle.

On the manufacturing side, Toyota is targeting cutting production process-related CO 2 emissions per vehicle from new plants and new production lines to roughly half of 2001 levels by 2020, and roughly a third by 2030. The company says that it intends to use renewable energy and hydrogen-based production methods to completely eliminate CO 2 emissions by 2050.

Toyota will develop manufacturing technologies that use hydrogen as a power source, and beginning testing on FCV production lines by around 2020.

On the community side, Toyota will focus on establishing a recycling-based society and systems. It will promote the global rollout of end-of-life vehicle treatment and recycling technologies developed in Japan by establishing two recycling projects in 2016. The company will also promote the global rollout of conservation activities beyond the Toyota Group and its business partners by establishing three future-oriented global projects in 2016.