Electrifying times for Toyota NZ

Toyota New Zealand is celebrating 35 years of leading the domestic new-vehicle market and says more than one-third of its 28,727 sales last year were electrified.

Steve Prangnell, general manager of new vehicles, says the company aims to offer the widest choice of hybrid vehicles in New Zealand.

“We are proud to announce 36 per cent of our vehicle sales in 2022 were hybrid models,” he adds. “We have passed the tipping point of positive customer sentiment towards hybrid-electric options, and it is telling that one of our top-selling vehicles was the hybrid electric RAV4 [pictured]. 

“We have seen an ever-increasing move to hybrid versions of all of our vehicles, and customers benefit further by being able to receive a clean car discount from the government for them.”

Prangnell notes Toyota’s most popular vehicle for 2022 was the Hilux with 9,787 units sold.

Lexus sets record

Lexus New Zealand, the luxury brand of Toyota, beat its previous sales record of 1,005 new-car sales in 2021 after selling 1,020 vehicles in 2022.

Its top-selling model in 2022 was the Lexus UX with 309 vehicles sold, 177 of which were UX BEVs and 132 UX hybrids.

The company says it also has a significant number of orders placed for this year, mainly driven by demand for its electrified range. It notes 82 per cent of last year’s sales were either battery electric vehicles (BEVs) – the UX300e, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) – the NX450h+, or hybrid cars.

Andrew Davis, Lexus NZ general manager, says the company aims to increase its sales and work towards carbon neutrality through a mixed portfolio of sustainable powertrain options.

“During 2022, we have seen a growing shift in customer demand for Lexus electrified products, especially with the arrival of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric models,” he adds.

“With this success, we are now turning our attention towards a carbon-neutral future. By 2050, Lexus aims to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the lifecycle of the entire model line-up – from the manufacturing of materials, parts, vehicles to vehicle logistics, to the final disposal and recycling of older vehicles.”

Lexus NZ says carbon emissions across its Lexus portfolio were 121/g per km in 2022, down from 157/g per km in the previous year.

Emissions goals 

Toyota NZ highlights how in 2022 it became the first automotive company in the country to include lifecycle emissions from vehicles sold in its targets, which account for 86 per cent of Toyota’s annual direct and indirect emissions. 

Those targets were combined with the release of Toyota’s Let’s Go Places brand vision that focuses on three core pathways of environmental sustainability, mobility for all and community service.

Neeraj Lala, chief executive officer, says the company has set a commitment to reduce its total emissions by a minimum of 46 per cent of 2019 levels by 2030, including the lifetime tailpipe emissions from all new and used vehicles

The company has also committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.

“Toyota is helping create a cleaner tomorrow through future-focused initiatives, and we’re immensely proud of our achievements this year,” says Lala. 

He expects the arrival of the battery-electric bZ4X SUV this year will further reduce the company’s average emissions.

Lala adds: “2022 was another challenging year with supply shortages and delays, and for that I apologise to our customers who had to experience longer than normal wait times for their vehicles.”