Toyota’s Green Image

Toyota did not get to be so big and admired by following, the company has a knack for choosing the right image for itself and now the company is working hard on the Green image.

Every year they sponsor the Toyota Eco Youth (TEY)programme which is designed to promote environmental awareness among secondary school students. On the surface of it, this may seem like a half baked programme because the chances of it generating a totally new and breakthrough idea to save the world is pretty slim so why do they bother listening to schools talking about how to recycle canteen water for the fish pond to save a few litres?

The fact is, TEY is a great marketing tool and an important instructional programme that gets kids thinking about the environment and this, is really the first step in their effort to sell hybrid and other low emission vehicles.

Think about it. In about 10 years time when Hybrid or other form of low emission technology is all the rage, the thousands of kids who participated in the TEY are now comfortable with the idea that Toyota is a leader in environmentally sound car technoogy so when the ad-men pitch the idea to them it will meet with a lot less resistance.

This is also the same reason why Honda is sponsoring the WWF’s rhino conservation project.

To sell green cars you need green credentials and these companies are busy building those credentials for the future.

Toyota plans to sell around 1 million hybrid cars a year in two years time and Honda is looking at a similar figure so the race is on to make hybrid technology cheap enough to make sense for most people and that race is about to hit the finish line right about now. Engineers will then take about two years to translate those solutions into a road going car by early next year (the latest) to make sure that the cars hti the market by end of 2009.

In fact I think the technology problems and cost issues have been resolved and they are now int eh final leg of engineering the road going hybrid cars tat will probably only cost slightly more than a normal petrol version.

Japanese carmakers are really piling their chips on Hybrid technology and at the same time they are hedging their bets with modern diesel but they know that the Europeans have pretty much cornered the diesel market and they need to forge a new path to market dominance and they have decided the future shall be hybrid.

At the moment biofuels are hitting a very strong mental barrier as scientists and researchers seem to argue that these plant based fuel may put out more greenhouse gas than conventional hydrocarbon-based fuels if you measure the whole production cycle from planting to final use.

We don’t know whether these researchers and scientists are funded by the oil industry but it does seem unlikely for oil company to start slagging biofuels if they realise that they will not have any oil to offer anyway in about 100 years time. Unless of course they think that oil will last for another thousand years.

In any case biofuels will need to find a champion from the ranks of carmakers and so far only GM has come forward with a real plan to promote ethanol use in its cars. The Auto giant plans to sell E85 Ethanol mix at US0.85 per gallon and if this becomes reality the demand for ethanol will skyrocket.

It would be interesting to see whether this subsidy plan will skew the demand for corn and other grains so much that it affects the food market and how consumers will react to it.

I think that we cannot avoid a future situation where arable land and crops will find competing markets in food and fuel and this pressure will force us to become more energy efficient, unless if we think lunch should be permanently optional.

In the meantime most of us will happily fill up with petrol and we need cars that are as frugal as possible with fuel and hybrid technology is certainly one workable solution although the technology needs a lot of work to actually help us save fuel.

A police Civic Hybrid spotted in Sungai Petani, the force is probably using it to gauge the suitability and robustness of the technology for future use

Our test of the Honda Civic Hybrid shows that in order to gain the maximum fuel-saving potential of the car you have to be very light footed and be constantly paying attention to the recharge-assist dial and teach yourself to be a green driver.

We are looking forwaad to Toyota bringing the Prius to the local market but that may be some time away since these products are clearly not moneymakers Honda is selling it only as a brand builder.

The time is not far when we will all have to consider very carefully the fuel consumption figures to make sure that both our fuel and food bill does not increase.

As it is, even with the generous Government subsidy, we are all feeling the pinch of increasing energy cost.

Malaysia needs to formulate a coherent energy policy soon if we want to have a clear idea how we are going to manage our needs for the future. An energy policy is not a strictly Green issue or initiative, it is an important strategic plan for the country’s security and competitiveness in the coming decades. We will see the urgent need for a green economy within our lifetime. It is that urgent.