Want Exciting? Drive Electric. Want Boring? Drive Toyota.
At NASCAR Cup Championship, Toyota’s Lack of EVs Sparks Protest
AVONDALE, Ariz. – At the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Public Citizen will protest Toyota Motor Corp.’s slow-walking of electric vehicles, calling on the company to push toward selling 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
“As the largest global auto manufacturer, Toyota has the ability to shift the worldwide market on EVs,” said East Peterson-Trujillo, clean vehicles campaigner with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “Toyota is stuck in the past, betting the climate crisis, public health, and economic benefits won’t push consumers toward cleaner, cheaper EVs. Toyota must leave its boring, polluting vehicles in the rearview mirror.”
At the event, a plane will circle the crowd towing a banner with the words: “Want exciting? Drive electric. Want boring? Drive Toyota.”
In addition, a billboard truck will circle the Phoenix Raceway displaying a video calling on Toyota to fix its long-term strategy on EVs.
Last week, Public Citizen, along with 16 other organizations, called on Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, to commit the company to producing only zero-emissions vehicles. The letter urges the company to shift swiftly to EVs or risk obsolescence.
Public Citizen and allies call on Toyota to:
- Phase out internal combustion engine vehicles (including hybrids and plug-in hybrids) by 2030 in the U.S. and Europe and 2035 globally;
- Align the company’s global advocacy and lobbying with the goal of phasing out internal combustion engines and supporting policies that promote a 100% renewable energy economy-wide;
- Ensure 100% renewable energy use throughout its supply chains globally by 2035.
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