Toyota challenges VW with plans for more hybrids and more hydrogen fuel cell cars

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Toyota has revealed plans to dramatically cut its carbon footprint with more hybrids and more hydrogen fuel cell cars as it challenges VW.

As car makers, rightly or wrongly, are forced to deliver cars with ever lower CO2 emissions, the world’s two biggest car makers – Toyota and Volkswagen – have taken totally different routes.

VW has concentrated on delivering ‘clean’ diesels to battle CO2 challenges – which has now blown up in their face with the ‘dieselgate‘ scandal – whilst Toyota has gone the hybrid route to address the same challenge.

Now, with perfect timing, Toyota has revealed its future plans to all but eliminate CO2 emissions from its cars and production process by 2050, with a big jump in both hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell car production.

Toyota’s ‘Environmental Challenge 2050’ targets a reduction of 90 per cent in average carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 (compared to 2010), with a ramp-up in electrified and hydrogen-powered cars seeing Toyota selling 30,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars by 2020 and annual sales of 1.5 million hybrids a year by 2020 (almost doubling total hybrid sales in the last 18 years).

It’s an ambitious plan from Toyota, and despite the dubious benefits of a reduction in CO2 emissions it will also see lower levels of NOx and particulate emissions too – which is far more important.

With the first Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered cars now hitting the market – and the new hybrid Prius just around the corner – it looks like Toyota has the wind in its sails for ‘green’ car global domination.