Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has declared that the company’s 27 million hybrid vehicles built over the past 30 years have had the same impact as 9 million electric cars with larger, more resource-intensive battery packs.
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The global chairman of Toyota has claimed the 27 million hybrids it has sold over the past 30 years – each halving fuel consumption by up to half – have kept the same amount of CO2 out of the air as nine million electric vehicles (EVs).
It is the latest declaration from the world's largest car maker, which was long accused of being slow to roll out electric cars, before a slowdown in EV demand – and surge in hybrid sales – over the past 18 months vindicated Toyota's position.
The Japanese giant has long advocated for offering a broad range of powertrains – petrol, diesel, hybrid, electric, and hydrogen – to suit different buyers, rather than forcing customers into electric cars.
Akio Toyoda told Automotive News the CO2 saved by the 27 million hybrids it has placed on the road is equivalent to building and registering 9 million EVs, due to the less intensive process – and fewer materials needed – to produce smaller batteries in hybrids.
He claims that Japan was the only country to record a drop in CO2 emissions over the last 10 years – to the tune of 23 per cent – which he says is a result of the popularity of hybrid cars.
"For Japan, we had this weapon of hybrid vehicles," the current chairman and former CEO said through an interpreter.
"So with the hybrid vehicle[s] we were able to reduce 23 per cent of CO2 emission[s] in the same years, and it was the only country that was able to achieve that.
“The [27 million] hybrids that we made and sold [since 1997] had the same impact as 9 million BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] out in the world.
"But if we were to make 9 million BEVs in this country, it would have actually increased the CO2 emission, not reduced, because we are relying on the thermal power plants.”
The power production Toyoda refers to relates to natural gas and coal-fuelled electricity generation still in use in Japan, accounting for over 60 per cent of the country’s power supply, with gas consumption falling but coal consumption on the rise.
"When the term ‘carbon neutrality’ started to become popular, we set our target as a company, saying that for us, the enemy is carbon," said Toyoda.
“For us, the way that we thought about it is that we’re not going to contribute to [achieving] carbon neutrality just by building BEVs [battery electric vehicles], but we have to focus on things we can do now so that immediately we can reduce CO2 from the air.
“We looked at ourselves as a full line-up company. What can we do with the product line-up we have to contribute to carbon neutrality?’ So that was the base of how we made our decision in those times, and that has not changed now, and this will not change in the future.”
Toyota’s hybrid history dates back to 1997, when the company launched its first, and then only, hybrid vehicle, the Prius.
It was initially introduced in Japan and the United States before being rolled out to other countries, including Australia, in 2001.
From there, Toyota has moved away from hybrid-specific models like the Prius, as it added hybrid versions of mainstream models like the Corolla, Camry, Yaris, RAV4, and Kluger.
In June 2024, Toyota Australia announced that its full passenger car range would switch to hybrid only, removing the option for petrol-only power where offered – except in the case of high-performance GR models, or the brand's sole EV locally, the bZ4X SUV.
Toyoda was also clear that Toyota’s approach, while heavily hybrid-focused right now – but with a growing range of EVs arriving in international markets – provided a more balanced approach than automakers who have committed to all-or-nothing EV adoption.
"We shouldn’t just focus on just one option, to say that BEV will be the only option to take. We should look at all the options we have and ... work in all directions."
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Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
