Letter to Toyota CEO Shigeru Hayakawa
October 11, 2007
Shigeru Hayakawa
Chairman and CEO
Toyota Motor North America
9 West 57th Street, 49th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Hayakawa:
Just seven years ago, Toyota sold the first hybrid-electric Prius in the United States. Ever since, Americans have recognized Toyota as an environmental leader committed to improving fuel economy and reducing tailpipe emissions. This public image has brought new consumers to Toyota showrooms and made the Prius the best-selling and most visible hybrid vehicle in America. Unfortunately, Toyota's recent lobbying in the U.S. Congress is inconsistent with its global reputation as an environmentally and socially responsible company. On behalf of our millions of members nationwide, we urge you to abandon your efforts to block the first meaningful increase in federal fuel economy standards in nearly 30 years by supporting the Senate-passed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) provisions.
President Bush rightly stated that America is addicted to oil in his January 2007 State of the Union speech. This dependence puts our national security, economy, and environment at risk. We can break this dependence by making new cars, trucks, and SUVs go farther on a gallon of gas. The technology exists today to reach and exceed a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 – the standard contained in the Senate-passed energy bill, H.R. 6. Taking this step would save nearly 1.2 million barrels of oil per day by 2020 – representing more than half of current U.S. oil imports from the entire Persian Gulf. At the same time, it would save Americans $25 billion at the gas pump (even after paying for the necessary fuel-saving technology) and prevent over 200 million tons of heat-trapping global warming pollution from entering the atmosphere each year.
Toyota Motor Corporation's efforts to lobby Congress to weaken, delay, or eliminate the bipartisan Senate measure stands in marked contrast to its public statements and its marketing to consumers. Furthermore, it appears that Toyota is applying a double standard when the company simultaneously complies with strict Japanese fuel economy standards yet lobbies members of the U.S. House and Senate against more modest improvements here in the United States.
We urge you to join with former military officials, business leaders, environmental and consumer organizations, and millions of Americans who want to take care of our planet, our country, and our pocketbooks. Toyota has the technology and the engineering capability to meet new standards. As the world's leading automaker and a leader in advanced vehicle technology, Toyota should be setting the industry standard, not stooping to the lowest common denominator. We urge you to reaffirm the company's commitment to the global environment by discontinuing its efforts to weaken the fuel economy standards passed by the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
 Steven Nadel Executive Director American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy |
 Gene Karpinski President League of Conservation Voters |
 Philip E. Clapp President National Environmental Trust |
 Danielle R. Fugere Regional Program Director Friends of the Earth |
 Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council |
 Kevin Knobloch President Union of Concerned Scientists |
 Margie Alt Executive Director U.S. Public Interest Research Group |
 Phil Warburg President Conservation Law Foundation |
 Dan Jacobson Legislative Director Environment California | |
