One Press of the Eco Button in a Toyota or Lexus Can Make a World of Difference

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May 18, 2023, 09:00 ET

Week-long study demonstrates how any Toyota or Lexus with Eco mode can reduce tailpipe CO2 emissions simply by pressing the Eco or EV button
Toyota employees and family members drove more than 400,000 miles in Eco or EV mode during the initiative
Eco mode study showed how drivers of different kinds of vehicles can contribute toward carbon reduction

PLANO, Texas, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It can feel overwhelming thinking how to do your best to minimize your impact on the environment. Did you remember to recycle? Turn off the lights when you left a room? Compost your leftovers?

In a world of more than 8 billion people, it turns out that even making the smallest changes can make a positive collective impact. Case-in-point: Driving in Eco or EV mode in gas and hybrid vehicles.

One Press of the Eco Button in a Toyota or Lexus Can Make a World of Difference

Engineers and data scientists from data and mobility services company Toyota Connected North America (TCNA) set out to see how much one push of a button could reduce drivers' carbon emissions. From April 19-25, TCNA recorded data in real-time from more than 2,000 participating corporate-owned Toyota and Lexus vehicles, recording more than 483,000 miles in Eco or EV mode throughout the week. Data scientists compared data from driving in Eco mode a baseline of daily driving taken before the campaign to measure improvements. The TCNA team sifted through more than 2.5 million miles from all participating and non-participating vehicles.

From that sample, the estimated collective impact of the study participants' emission reductions were:

The equivalent of 748 trees sequestering carbon for 10 years
45,235,623 g of CO2 reduction of greenhouse gases compared to the baseline
5,091 gallons of gasoline saved
$18,304 of fuel cost savings based on the national average

"We have the ability to use data to help empower customers so that they can make a difference," said Brian Kursar, chief technology officer, TCNA. "While this study focused on Toyota-owned vehicles, we know there are millions of connected Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S. If everyone drove in Eco mode, it could help greatly reduce our collective CO2 output. Given how successful this internal campaign was, we'd love to see where we can take this initiative, and we hope we inspire other automakers to do the same."

Kursar continued: "Toyota and Lexus drivers come from all walks of life and live in all kinds of places. Some have long commutes; some may live in rural areas with little fueling infrastructure. Our goal is to meet them where they're at and use our expertise to help them today, no matter what they drive."

TCNA found in its initial study that using the Eco mode could reduce tailpipe CO2 output in a hybrid by 4% — because it already captures energy from brakes and downhill coasting. Or, in a full internal-combustion engine vehicle, data scientists found using the Eco button could reduce tailpipe CO2 by up to 26%. The benefit of Eco mode is that it remaps throttle inputs for gentler acceleration and optimizes the HVAC to conserve energy.

"Toyota companies are dedicated to helping reduce carbon emissions to advance achieving a net-zero society and are challenging ourselves to how we can continually help our drivers do the same," said Olarinre Salako, senior data scientist, TCNA. "Connected cars open up a world to see how we can use data for good and how we can unlock the full potential of our Toyota and Lexus vehicles."

"To get to a carbon-neutral society, we're all going to have to pitch in," said Kursar. Pressing one button in your car to activate Eco mode is one small contribution that our data scientists have shown can benefit everyone."

About Toyota Connected, Inc.

Based in Plano, Texas, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA) was established in 2016 to contribute toward realizing Toyota's global vision for an intelligent mobile society. As an independent Toyota company, TCNA serves as a software and innovation hub that leverages big data from vehicles to humanize the driving experience, providing customers secure, seamless and contextual services. Comprised primarily of software engineers and data scientists, TCNA is a center of excellence for connected services that elevate the customer experience as well as benefiting dealers, distributors and partners. At the heart of TCNA is Toyota's belief in human-centered mobility and a fundamental commitment to personal privacy. Learn more at toyotaconnected.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Corey Proffitt, Connected Communications
Toyota Motor North America
646-971-4522
[email protected]

Jacob Brown, Connected Communications
Toyota Motor North America
469-486-4042
[email protected]

Data captured from model year 2020-23 Toyota and Lexus employee lease, fleet and other vehicles owned by Toyota Motor North America and other Toyota companies from March 18, 2023, until April 24, 2023 (see below for details). Vehicles include model year 2020-2023 Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with an on/off Eco Mode button or EV Mode in hybrid vehicles. Data is collected only in vehicles where drivers have consented to sharing data via the Toyota app in North America. For more information on Toyota's data privacy policy, please visit: https://support.toyota.com/s/article/Data-Privacy-Portal-10679

Other factors can limit the reduction of carbon emissions such as idling, weather, route, driving habits, different drivers, etc. Also, the analyses only focused on tailpipe CO2 emissions reduction. Results will vary depending on these and other factors.

How we calculated the Baseline pre-campaign driving period March 15 - March 31:

Start from trip level to daily level to historical baseline level for each VIN. Calculated Baseline Total Dynamic Carbon Footprint (g/CO2) when speed > 0, using EPA conversion factor of 1 gallon of gas consumed = 8887 gCO2*.
Obtain Baseline Total Mileage (Mile)
Calculate Baseline Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2/mile). That is value in (2) divided by value in (1)
For cross referencing with monitor, get historical usages of different driving modes (EV, ECO, and others). Other things being equal, the more EV and ECO modes usage the lower the carbon footprint per mile.

How we calculated the Monitor driving period during Earth Week campaign April 19 - April 25:

During the campaign, repeat the process in Baseline above for each VIN, and for each day of the campaign, to get equivalent monitor values.
Take the difference between the Monitor Daily Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint and the Baseline Normalized Dynamic Carbon Footprint.
If the difference in (2) yields a negative gCO2/mile, then multiply the Negative Value -by the Monitor Total Daily Mileage (Miles) to get Daily Reduction in Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2) for each VIN.
Sum up the Daily Reduction in Dynamic Carbon Footprint (gCO2) for all VINs and all campaign days, to obtain Total Carbon Footprint Savings for the entire campaign period.
Convert the Total Carbon Footprint Savings to Number of Trees, using the conversion factor provided by the EPA: 60,539 grams of CO2 are required to plant and grow 1 typical urban tree in the US for 10 years**.
Convert the Total Carbon Footprint Savings to Dollars, using national average price of gas per gallon as of 4/10 = $3.596***.

References

*https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results

**https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references

*** https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

SOURCE Toyota Connected North America