Toyota Is Promoting Sustainable Motorsports For The Masses, But Fully Electrified Racing Cars Can Wait

Toyota is committed to global carbon neutrality by 2050 in a practical and sustainable manner. The company’s approach towards green initiatives might not sound entirely groundbreaking at first glance, but given the scale of its operations, one cannot fault its dedication for the brand appeal to as many people (and aspiring racers) as possible.

In a video to promote a new racing team that prioritises sustainability, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, inferred that familiarity and mass market appeal is key to enact changes. “It’s good to race electric vehicles, but using combustion engines which 5.5 million people (in Japan) in the automobile industry have cultivated over many years… something that will lead to sustainable and practical motorsports.”

And that’s a big step taken by Toyota to commit to this challenge - one of which is its participation in a 25-hour endurance race at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand from 17 to 18 December. ROOKIE Racing Co., Ltd. (ROOKIE Racing) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) will race with the ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 concept, a hydrogen engine vehicle, and the ORC ROOKIE GR86 CNF Concept, a carbon-neutral fuel vehicle. The participation will only be for the first and last few hours of the race, and this will be the first time both vehicles will compete in a race outside of Japan.

In addition, one of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Thailand’s vehicles is also going to run on carbon neutral fuels. Starting with participation in the Thailand 25H Endurance Race, ROOKIE Racing and Toyota, will continuously strive to increase and accelerate development of carbon neutral technologies in Asia through motorsports.