Toyota Ranked As Third Most Resistant Company To Climate Change Policies

Because of this, a report by London-based think tank InfluenceMap rated Toyota as the third most obstructive company on climate change policies. Ahead of Toyota are two large oil companies, ExxonMobil (1st) and Chevron (2nd).

Toyota has actively campaigned against proposed government regulations globally to phase out ICEs in favor of electric vehicles (EV) from 2020 to 2021, and this made Toyota the most resistant automaker to climate change policies on InfluenceMap’s list. Other automakers on the list are BMW (18th), Daimler (24th), and Hyundai (25th).

On the other hand, InfluenceMap released their A-List of Climate Policy Engagement, which identifies 15 corporate leaders that show strong support for climate policies across a range of sectors and regions. Tesla is the only automaker on this list, which is ranked fifth. Ahead of it is Unilever, Iberdrola, Nestle, and Enel.

Back in July of this year, a report by The New York Times says that this stance has led Toyota to lobby the congress "behind closed doors" in a bid to push back the Biden administration’s plans to accelerate the transition to EVs.

Toyota was one of the leaders in terms of the entire model range’s average EPA fuel economy rating due to its high amount of hybrids, but the popularity of SUVs, crossovers, and pickups have resulted in the stagnation of the company’s average fuel economy ratings.

Toyota, however, has long argued that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) offer better long-term environmental benefits compared to EVs. Other companies such as Honda have pulled the plug on FCEV development, shifting their focus towards EVs instead.

Earlier this year, Toyota unveiled a new hydrogen engine that is fitted inside a prototype Toyota Corolla hatchback racecar. Its most recent participation was during the Super Taikyu 5-hour endurance race in Autopolis, Japan. The way this engine works is similar to the conventional gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine, but it runs on hydrogen instead.

Nevertheless, Toyota is set to enter the electric vehicle age with the production version of its bZ4X electric crossover that was co-developed with Subaru. It has up to 311 miles of range along with the promise of as much as 90 percent battery retention during its first 10 years. The bZ4X will be launched to market worldwide in mid-2022.