Driving sustainable mobility in the Philippines with hybrid cars
MANILA, Philippines — According to the 2018 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming is estimated to reach 1.5-degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels sometime between 2030 and 2050. Without doubt, the planet is heating up at an alarming rate.
With this comes a louder and more urgent call for sustainable mobility—especially from the transport sector, which has been estimated by the Paris Agreement of 2016 to contribute to one-fifth of the world’s carbon emissions.
The same is true in the Philippines. “Vehicle emission is a leading factor contributing 69% of air pollution in the country,” said Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba at the Toyota Hybrid Electric Technology Conference.
Held last May 29 at the Grand Hyatt Manila, it is the first time that Toyota Motor Philippines assembled a hybrid technology event of this scale. The conference was attended by over 400 guests, among them government officials, private and public stakeholders, and the media.
“Transportation electrification is often viewed as a key measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change,” Aldaba said.
However, according to data from the Department of Trade and Industry, there are only 4,362 registered electrified vehicles (xEVs) and 19 charging stations in the Philippines as of December 2018. Currently, there are four types of xEVs in the market: the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FHEV).
There is hope as both the public and private sectors have introduced at the conference immediate goals for transportation electrification.
The government targets to deploy 10,000 electric jeepneysfor public transport and build 200 charging stations by 2020.
Toyota, meanwhile, aims to reduce CO2 emissions from Toyota’s new vehicles by 35% by 2030 as an interim goal toward a bigger goal of 90% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050.
As the biggest car company in the country, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) also commits to spearhead a green movement through its hybrid technology. In fact, TMP pioneered the xEV market here by introducing the second generation Toyota Prius in 2009. The model first came out in Japan and the US in 1997 as Toyota’s first HEV.
“Present for almost a decade now, hybrid technology is readily available to the Filipino people. It is at our disposal, but a number of factors keep us from fully utilizing and harnessing its potential. Regardless, TMP remains steadfast that hybrids are the gateway towards electrification,” said Dr. TMP Vice Chairman David Go.
This infographic shows why HEVs are positioned as the leading driver for sustainable mobility in the Philippines:
“For the time being, HEV is the most suitable technology for Philippines. . . We think that it would better to expand and popularize HEV, as well as PHEV to create a mass volume as the fundamental technology,” said Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing Vice President Yukio Yoshida.
Toyota’s efforts to promote usage of HEVs and other electrified vehicles is part of its global initiative Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, or TEC 2050, which was first announced in 2015.
“Our TEC 2050 identifies six challenges that we believe are essential to achieving our sustainability goals, as well as our vision of helping build an ever better world for all,” said Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Executive Vice President Vince Socco.
The first three challenges target to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by focusing on electrification and adoption of green technologies and processes throughout the life-cycle and production of every vehicle we build.
The next three challenges then aim to realize a net positive impact on the environment by focusing on other key environmental risks areas such as water, waste management and the sustainable co-existence of man with nature.
These challenges will be localized in the Philippines through TMP’s very own TEC 2050 Roadmap.
“TMP’s TEC 2050 Roadmap focuses on key areas where we can generate the maximum positive impact on our business operations, the environment and society, under a realistic scenario,” said TMP President Satoru Suzuki.
In his presentation, Suzuki presented specific actions for each of the TEC 2050 Challenges:
- Challenge 1: Localize Toyota’s global vehicle electrification strategy starting with Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
- Challenge 2: Reduce the collective carbon footprint of the Toyota production and distribution chain.
- Challenge 3: Utilize 100% renewable energy in TMP operations to further reduce plant emissions.
- Challenge 4 and 5: Implement complementary resource conservation and management activities.
- Challenge 6: Continue proactive approach on biodiversity management primarily through our tree planting and revegetation projects.
“By localizing TEC 2050 strategies, we aim to inspire and connect our team members, business partners, customers and other stakeholders to TMP's core commitment to sustainable mobility,” concluded Suzuki.
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