Protest Group Targeting Toyota Shows Up At Phoenix NASCAR Race

A group protesting Toyota was evident at NASCAR’s last race of the season Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

The group, Public Citizen, released a statement Sunday morning saying they were protesting Toyota’s “slow-walking” of electric vehicles and wants 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.”

The group planned to have a plane towing a banner as well as a billboard truck circling the raceway with a video calling on Toyota to fix its long-term electric vehicle strategy.

The group said that last week they, along with 16 other organizations, called on Toyota’s CEO Akio Toyoda to commit to manufacturing only zero-emission vehicles.

Currently Toyota’s carbon neutral strategy is offer 30 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across its lineup by 2030. The company also plans to invest approximately $70 billion globally in electrified vehicles including hybrids (HEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Of that amount, approximately $35 billion will be invested in BEVs starting in 2022 through 2030.

Sunday morning a Toyota spokesperson released a statement to Forbes:

“Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality as quickly as possible. Toyota’s comprehensive powertrain strategy, which includes zero-emission battery electrics and fuel cell electrics, is designed to reduce carbon emissions, support customer needs and affordability, while considering the longer-term necessity of a secure and resilient battery supply chain in America to minimize exposure to geopolitical risks.”