It was a year to celebrate for Toyota in 2022, with the New Zealand arm of the carmaker experiencing strong growth in hybrid vehicle sales alongside its further commitment to sustainability.
Meeting emissions targets was something high on Toyota New Zealand’s list of priorities last year as part of its Let’s Go Places brand vision.
One such goal is to reduce its total emissions by a minimum of 46 per cent of 2019 levels by 2030, including the lifetime tailpipe emissions from all new and used vehicles sold by Toyota New Zealand.
It also wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 which its clean vehicle sales are pointing towards.
Of the total 28,727 cars, SUVs, and commercial vehicles sold in 2022, 36 per cent of those were hybrid models with the hybrid electric RAV4 being the most popular.
Although hybrid sales were strong, it was the Hilux that took the cake for the best selling model last year with 9787 units sold.
The Toyota range also grew with the introduction of the Corolla Cross while the hatchback Corolla also became an electrified only model.
“Toyota is helping create a cleaner tomorrow through future-focused initiatives, and we’re immensely proud of our achievements this year,” says Neeraj Lala, Toyota New Zealand Chief Executive Officer.
Such initiatives include the Hydrogen Project, which sees a fleet of hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai shared by nine Auckland-based iconic New Zealand companies, the company’s investment in the CityHop car sharing service, and its Waka Aronui community-based car leasing scheme.
The brand is also making steps towards a circular economy and has collected and recycled over 900 hybrid vehicle batteries during 2022.
“Toyota has been and continues to lead the market when it comes to electrifying vehicles. We have gone from having one, pioneering hybrid – the Toyota Prius – to a range of hybrid, plug in hybrid and EV cars and SUVs,” says Lala.
“In fact, 67 per cent of the passenger vehicles we offer today in NZ have an electrified option, and 36 per cent of our 2022 sales were hybrids.”
Neeraj expected the highly anticipated arrival of the battery electric bZ4X SUV in 2023 to further reduce the company’s average emissions.
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