Portland RAV4-EV Program Tops List of Toyota Sustainable Mobility Initiatives

PORTLAND, OR - September 24, 2008: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., made a series of environmental announcements at its "Sustainable Mobility Seminar" here today, including a plan to put four off-lease RAV4 electric vehicles into operation in the Portland-area. The RAV4-EVs will help the city and the state of Oregon develop an electric-charging infrastructure in preparation for the arrival of future zero- and low-emission vehicles.

The Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar featured a series of presentations by leading third party experts and company executives. Topics included: peak liquid oil; the nexus of water land use and energy; intelligent transportation systems; the CAFE and regulatory environment; urban design and green building initiatives.

Portland State University will develop a program to use the four RAV4-EVs as station cars to shuttle people from mass-transit terminals to downtown and suburban locations. Portland General Electric (PGE) recently went on-line with its first free-standing public electric-recharging station and has announced the installation of five additional plug-in charging stations.

Toyota previously announced plans for a limited-volume placement program for a new lithium-battery powered plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be leased to fleet customers beginning in late 2009 in Japan, Europe and North America. In addition, the company also has announced plans to launch an all-new battery electric vehicle commuter car in the early 2010s.

"It's obvious that the next several years will see a growing number of low-emission and no-emission vehicle options, particularly electric and hybrid vehicles," said George Beard of PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government. "Our region's position in renewable energy and its leadership reputation in urban sustainability make this partnership a natural for all involved."

Other announcements made at the Sustainable Mobility Seminar included:

Toyota plans to display a CNG-powered Camry hybrid concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The largest single roof solar power system in North America that will go into operation in early October at Toyota's North American Parts Center California, supplying nearly 60 percent of its electricity needs. The system will cover nearly four football fields and avoid carbon dioxide emissions of about 6.4 million pounds annually, equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from energy use of 255 homes.

Five more Toyota dealerships are poised to receive Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) before the end of the year and as many as 10 more could be certified in 2009. To date, two Toyota dealerships are the only dealerships in the country to have received LEED certification.

A more than 10 percent reduction in the cost of replacement hybrid vehicles batteries. In addition, Toyota is studying the business case for remanufacturing HV batteries in North America to further lower replacement costs.

Those speaking at the conference included Dr. Peter Wells from NetFlex Petroleum Consultants, Dr. Tim Barnett from Scipps Institute, Dr. John A. Merson from Sandia National Laborites, Dr. Jan Kreider from the University of Colorado and Gordan Feller from the Urban Age Institute.