TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Toyoda: Have fun and never give up
Toyoda-san pledges that his brand will be fun to drive, again, and promises to stand by plant workers affected by natural disasters both in Japan and abroadFollowing a brief video, company head Akio Toyoda spoke about Toyota's pledge to return to building fun to drive cars, while reiterating his belief that future mobility will depend on more than one solution.
Toyoda-san also spoke briefly about his company's commitment to those employees affected by the region's recent natural disasters.
The Toyota stand featured no fewer than four different forms of future driveline technology, including electric, hybrid and hydrogen technologies.
Key to the display, Toyota presented its Fun-Vii Concept electric vehicle, Yaris-sized Prius C hybrid (due in Australia Q2, 2012), Prius plug-in hybrid and FCV-R hydrogen powered model.
Of course, the recently released production-prototype of the sporty 86 Coupe was also on display among an array of current models.
As demonstrated at the Toyota stand at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota will embrace a number of driveline technologies as it seeks to create a range of vehicles that are both environmentally sensitive, and desirable to own.
"Personally, I love the smell of gasoline and the sound of an engine, so I hope that this type of vehicle never disappears," said Toyoda. "I believe that if it is not fun, it is not a car."
Both the Toyota and Lexus previews reiterated Toyoda's message of reviving inspirational and aspiration mobility, the company's slogan "Fun to drive, again" prevalent throughout the short presentation.
"There are many different ways of travelling from A to B. The difference [as I see it] between cars and other forms of transport is that cars offer freedom to drivers," Toyoda explained.
"We truly believe that no matter how advanced our cars become, it is important to retain this feeling."
Following the March earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan and recent severe flooding events in Thailand, Toyoda promised to stand by workers in affected areas, saying it has no intention of withdrawing from the Tohoku region (Japan), or from Thailand.
"Toyota has pride and confidence in the on-site capabilities, human resources and technological capabilities it has developed through automobile manufacturing in Japan, Thailand and other places around the world," Toyoda explained.
"No matter how challenging the manufacturing environment becomes, and no matter how many obstacles we have to overcome, we will maintain our belief in the power of manufacturing and steadily move forward, one step at a time, toward realising a society based on our vision for future mobility."
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