Toyota Had Highest Rise in Carbon Emissions in 1990s, Study Says

Despite dominating the low-emission hybrid-electric market in the U.S., Toyota Motor Corp. increased its carbon emissions more than any other major auto maker in this country in the 1990s, according to an environmental report released Tuesday.

The report, by the New York-based group Environmental Defense, said Toyota increased its carbon emissions by 72% from 1990 to 2000, the most of any of the Big Six auto makers in the U.S.

That was due mainly to Toyota’s surge in volume over that period and its production of more and bigger SUVs and pickup trucks, Environmental Defense said.

Toyota’s increase was not surprising, given the company’s growth in the U.S. since 1990, Toyota spokesman Sam Butto said.

“It makes sense that our growth would be significant, because we sell a lot more vehicles than in 1990, so naturally there’s going to be a rise in carbon emissions,” Butto said.

Meanwhile, a senior Toyota executive told Bloomberg News that the auto maker will add more high-mileage hybrid-electric models to its vehicle lineup soon.

Toyota, which already sells one hybrid in the U.S., the Prius, will announce plans for more hybrid models in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Jim Press, chief operating officer for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., told Bloomberg News.

He did not identify the model or models that would be announced but hinted that there would be at least one gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle introduced.

“An SUV is an ideal platform for the technology, since it would really take advantage of the performance benefits and offer good fuel economy,” Press was quoted as saying.

Toyota officials were unable to confirm Press’ remarks Tuesday.

A Japanese business newspaper reported Friday that Toyota would double the number of its hybrid vehicles to six and export a hybrid version of the Lexus RX 300 to the United States.

Toyota also will produce a hybrid minivan and a hybrid version of its Crown sedan, similar to its top-selling Camry sedan in the U.S., the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. It did not say whether Toyota would export either to the U.S.

Hybrids mate a gasoline engine with an electric motor, providing performance similar to that of conventional internal-combustion cars but with considerably higher mileage and much lower emissions. The Prius gets about 50 miles a gallon.

Toyota’s plan “looks fairly aggressive in launching a variety of hybrid-electric vehicles,” said Christopher Cedergren, an analyst with the automotive forecasting firm Nextrend in Thousand Oaks.

“There’s increased pressure from legislation, either for fuel economy or emissions standards to rise,” Cedergren said.

Last week Gov. Gray Davis signed into law a bill requiring auto makers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions dramatically by the 2009 model year. Auto makers immediately responded that they would file suit against the legislation in California courts, claiming the law amounts to mandating fuel economy, something only the federal government can do.

General Motors Corp., the world’s largest auto maker, remains the largest producer of carbons, with a “carbon burden” of 6.7, meaning 6.7 million metric tons (3 billion pounds) of carbon dioxide emitted per year, followed by Ford Motor Co. at 5.6 and DaimlerChrysler at 4.1. Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. round out the Big Six.