Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) recently established a partnership with De La Salle University (DLSU) and staged the second leg of its Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Campus Tour in the university’s Manila campus.
The partnership is meant to expand the knowledge of the academe through the latest automotive industry trends and direction. This was made possible through DLSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Students and faculty members participated in an educational seminar conducted by Toyota’s technical experts, which focused on the beneficial effects of Toyota hybrid technology on the environment. A brief forum was also opened to discuss common misconceptions about hybrid electric vehicles.
“Our continuous activities on HEVs are geared towards the youth because they are the ones who will benefit most from this technology. With enough support and proper implementation, the untapped potential of hybrids can improve our transportation systems and our environment in the long-run,” said TMP First Vice President Ms. Cristina Arevalo. “Toyota is driving the future, one university at a time.”
The DLSU leg of the Hybrid Campus Tour series is part of Toyota’s global initiative to promote vehicle electrification towards sustainable mobility. In the Philippines, Toyota is firm on its stance that HEVs are the ideal transition phase for a greener and more energy-efficient automotive landscape. Here are three things to take note of from Toyota’s campus seminar:
1. Toyota is standing firm on its commitment to hybrids
Last May, the Toyota Hybrid Electric Technology Conference at the Grand Hyatt Manila was attended by over four hundred guests from different sectors like the government, academe, and environmental organizations. Prior to the conference, Toyota started its Hybrid Campus Tour series by partnering with Mapua University last March. As of now, TMP is offering two hybrid models, the Toyota Prius C, and Toyota Prius. Hybrid vehicle awareness is one thing, but affordability is another. While these two cars are priced very high for their size, TMP is working with the public and private sector to make these cars more affordably priced. Meanwhile, most of the hybrid models from Lexus are better priced due to benefits from the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) as well as the TRAIN law bringing down the prices of some luxury cars.
2. There will be a hybrid version of its current models
In order to further widen the use of hybrid technology, TMP is looking to bring electrified versions of its existing models to the Philippines. This business direction is aligned with the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, aimed at eliminating the company’s carbon emissions by the next three decades. This means that TMP has given hints of a hybrid Toyota Innova, Toyota Vios, Toyota Fortuner, just to name a few. This is important since it’s these cars that are popular among Filipino buyers.
3. Toyota Safety Sense is coming to the Philippines
If there’s one set of features that Toyota has not introduced yet to the Philippines, that would be Toyota’s Safety Sense suite of advanced driver-assist systems. Whereas Subaru and Honda have long brought its EyeSight and Honda Sensing, respectively, Toyota has been late to offer its advanced driver assist systems that have long been offered in overseas markets. Well, it seems we do not have to wait any longer as TMP First Vice President Ms. Cristina Arevalo gave hints that Toyota Safety Sense will finally be offered in the Philippines.
“TMP is well on its way to introducing various technologies and features available in other countries, such as the Hybrid Synergy Drive for fuel efficiency and Toyota Safety Sense for human safety,” she added. “This year will be an exciting time for the motoring public as we continue the push for electrification, and customers can definitely expect more options from Toyota if they’re looking to own environment-friendly cars.”
Toyota Safety Sense includes features such as full-speed adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, and blind spot warning with rear cross traffic alert. The safety suite is offered as standard on all variants of the US-market Corolla, RAV4, Camry, just to name a few.
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