Toyota urges businesses to ‘quit’ diesel
Toyota & Lexus Fleet Services ‘Quit Club’ marketing campaign highlights air quality benefits of hybrids over diesels
Businesses are being urged to consider the air quality and economic benefits of switching from Euro 6 standard diesel vehicle fleets to petrol hybrid fleets by motor manufacturer Toyota’s fleet division.
Toyota & Lexus Fleet Services has launched a diesel vehicle ‘Quit Club’ as part of its Brilliant for Business marketing campaign, which suggests businesses stop using diesel engines in their fleets by providing “three reasons to quit smoking”.
Toyota & Lexus Fleet Services’ ‘Quit Club’ website
The car firm claims that using Toyota & Lexus petrol hybrid fleets instead of diesel engines reduces nitrogen oxide, particulate matter and carbon dioxide emissions, while also improving business and generating £40,000 savings over the three year life cost of a fleet.
Statistics and a number of graphics are included on the vehicle fleet firm’s www.quitclub.org.uk website, which state that Toyota & Lexus’ petrol hybrids “produce far less harmful NOx emissions than the latest Euro 6 limits whilst also emitting no diesel particulates”.
A downloadable brochure on the quitclub.org site also states that diesel emissions are “toxic” and a “deadly risk”, comparing the effects of diesel emissions to secondary cigarette smoking. It also cites World Health Organisation (WHO) findings that diesel emissions are a cause of cancer.
As well as air quality benefits, Toyota & Lexus claims that switching to its petrol hybrids provides financial incentives such as lower company tax liabilities, slower depreciation, and lower maintenance costs.
Neil Broad, general manager of Toyota & Lexus Fleet Services, said: “These days, it’s quite easy to steer clear of cigarette smoke. But it is much more difficult to escape from diesel emissions. Combustion exhaust is in the air all around us and is linked to an estimated 5,000 premature deaths in the UK each year.”
Graph included on the ‘Quit Club’ website
Diet and healthy lifestyle company Slimming World has joined Toyota’s campaign, claiming to have saved £500,000 by switching its fleet from diesel engines to full petrol hybrids.
In seeking to highlight the air quality impacts of diesel fleets, Toyota & Lexus’ marketing campaign would appear to contrast with recent lobbying by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
SMMT, the UK motor industry trade association — of which Toyota is also a member — earlier this month launched its ‘myth-busting’ campaign aimed at ending the “demonisation of diesel” over its impact on air pollution (see airqualitynews.com story).
A spokesman for Toyota said: “Toyota has long championed the use of hybrid technology to provide customers with a powertrain option that delivers strong fuel economy and performance. Another benefit of hybrid is its relatively low total GHG emissions in comparison to petrol and diesel technology.
“Toyota continues to place hybrid technology as a core part of its range, with nearly 25% of UK sales in 2014 equipped with it. Nevertheless, Toyota continues to provide a diesel option in certain vehicles for those customers whom feel this is still the best fit for them.”