Future Mobility Show opens in Bangalore, Toyota Kirloskar Motor drives sustainable mobility 

The Future Mobility Show 2019, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Bangalore Exhibition Centre, has begun today and will go on till the 28th. The Future Mobility Show aims to present a holistic view for India’s future mobility, including products, technological advancements and innovations, sustainable ecosystem. 

FMS 2019, to which Toyota Kirloskar Motor has extended active support, is one of the biggest platforms for the auto industry, government and academia to collaborate to find sustainable mobility solutions for the nation. This association is in line with Toyota’s continuous efforts to provide a cleaner, greener, safer, technology agnostic ecosystem for India.

The event marked the presence of Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman and whole-time director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and N Raja, deputy managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor along with other key dignitaries.

Commitment to sustainable mobility
Toyota, which over the decades has endeavored to work towards providing cleaner, greener, eco-friendly sustainable mobility solutions, has a long-term commitment towards society and environment through Toyota’s Global Environment Challenge 2050. TKM says it has been able to prove its eco commitment with continuous improvements in environmental performance year-on-year – by achieving harmony between its manufacturing activities and the environment based on the concept of 'a plant that optimally utilises natural resources while operating in harmony with the natural environment'.

Energy security: TKM has installed in-house solar power plants, which generate 8.4 MW, at rooftops and the ground at its facility at Bidadi. Between FY2015-16 to FY2017-18, TKM’s renewable energy sourcing percentage has increased from 15 percent to 65 percent and is successfully decreasing its CO2 emissions consistently. In October 2018, TKM sourced 100 percent of its energy requirements from renewable power.

Until January 2019, in FY2018-19, TKM has sourced 87 percent of its total electricity consumed from renewable sources. Through the renewable power sourcing in first three quarters of FY2018-19, TKM has avoided the emission of more than 51,000 tons of CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere.

Spreading awareness: Toyota has developed the program of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ and established an experience-based learning center called ‘Ecozone’. Ecozone will help educate school children on the current environmental issues and positive behavioral changes. The education program will commence at the 25-acre ecopark for government school children and will be extended to other stakeholders in the days to come. TKM also engages with its dealer partners in establishing eco-systems to attain sustainability in its dealer operations at various regions across India.

Water conservation: Some of the key sustainable plant initiatives are the afforestation drive which includes plantation of 275,000 saplings inside the premises, utilisation of best available technology and promotion of eco-activities such as on-site rainwater harvesting pond of capacity 51,000 cubic metre that meets 19 percent of TKM’s total water requirement. In addition to this, a modern effluent treatment plant further recycles about 63 percent of treated effluent, thereby reducing the dependency on freshwater usage. In FY2018-19, 76 percent of the water consumed in the manufacturing facility was recycled water; only 7 percent of fresh water was consumed.

Eco-friendly vehicles: Toyota, a pioneer with history of over 20 years on development of electrified vehicles, is making continuous efforts in developing alternate mobility technologies such as BEVs, HEVs, FCVs towards the conservation of the environment. The carmaker launched the Camry Hybrid in India in 2013 and in early 2019 launched the much more advanced new Camry Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Globally, the company has sold 12 million Hybrids or self-charging electric vehicles on road, saving 92 million tonnes of CO2 and 35 billion litres of fuel. Toyota globally believes that the electrification of vehicles is required to reduce CO2 emissions.

Technology agnostic approach good for India
According to Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, “As a responsible auto manufacturer, we believe that we have a bigger role to play in the nation by addressing the problems of safety, energy security and emissions. We are happy to support the Future Mobility Show 2019 organized by CII which will prove to be a great knowledge sharing platform in the presence of important stakeholders from the industry. Toyota globally believes in creating a smart mobility driven society with integrated approach connecting people, vehicles and the society. Our focus is to create an ever-better society making mobility more enjoyable, safe, energy efficient and congestion free.  In Toyota’s vision of future mobility, all electrified vehicle technologies will remain relevant where small-size EVs would cover short distance commute, while HEVs/PHVs includes passenger cars [mid-size vehicles covering medium range] and FCVs would be for buses/trucks [long-distance range]. Different categories of mobility zones will emerge with suitable application of energy [such as electricity, gasoline, diesel, biofuel, CNG, synthetic fuels, hydrogen, etc] for varied powertrains. Thus, we believe that a technology agnostic approach will effectively support smooth mobility technology shift.”

Sharing his thoughts on future mobility, Shekhar Viswanathan, vice-chairman and whole-time director, TKM, said: “In line with Toyota’s Environment Challenge 2050, we globally believe that the electrification of vehicles is required to reduce CO2 emissions for a cleaner and greener planet. Toyota has been a pioneer in the electrified vehicle space with the Prius which is the first mass produced electrified car 20 years ago. Considering the pressing issues of fuel emission, high oil import dependency, energy security, we see alternate powertrains such as HVs and PHEVs as the ideal solutions for the Indian scenario. We hope that the government will continue to extend the needed support to promote hybrids (selfcharging electric vehicles) in the country, which Toyota believes have a future in the technology agnostic world.”

TKM recently received the ‘Significant Achievement in Environment Management’ award from the CII-ITC Centre for Excellence for Sustainable Development [CESD] under the category ‘Environment Domain’ of CII ITC Sustainability Award 2018. The award recognizes TKM’s continuing efforts in incorporating green technologies for production, optimisation of renewable energy utilisation within the plant, its green product portfolio and handholding its supply chain partners in enhancing their environmental performance.

Main image: Courtesy Valeo