In an effort to appeal to the mass market and contribute to the environment, Toyota unveiled two refurbished vehicles equipped with zero-emission powertrains at a recent event.
These two vehicles, belonging to a series manufactured between 1983 and 1987, were converted to two technologies that are strongly emerging in the automotive sector: one was modified as a battery electric vehicle and the other as a model with a hydrogen engine.
Toyota presented a kit to convert classic cars into emission-free vehicles
This Toyota strategic move is an initiative aimed at reaching a broader audience, as the company seeks to gain interest among existing gasoline and diesel car owners, including fans of classic models.
The decision to retrofit older vehicles with non-polluting units could have positive consequences from the perspective of global ecology. Buying a new hybrid or fully electric car may still be too expensive for many car owners, while replacing their engine might be just what they need, a cheaper solution.
In its home market, Japan, this proposal could be a big help, since only one in 20 cars, or about 5% of all vehicles on the road, are new. Most of the older models still on the road run on diesel or gasoline.
Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s president, said in his speech that retrofitting of existing cars should be explored as one of the ways to reach the goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, the company is investing $70 billion dollars to electrify their vehicles and increase battery production. Its current goal is to sell at least 3.5 million battery electric vehicles by 2030.
This Toyota proposal is an interesting initiative to contribute to caring for the environment and at the same time offer an affordable option for existing car owners, who, under the projections of the ecological programs implemented in more and more parts of the world, should be left out. circulation for decades to come.
