Today I ditched a brand that has been a part of my driving journey for almost four decades. My first car was mustard 1979 Toyota Corona. That car carried me into adulthood. I remember polishing its hubcaps! Over the years, I've owned various Toyotas, from Landcruisers to the Hilux I got rid of today. Toyota's stalling on climate action and electric vehicles doesn't align with my values and the urgent global need to stop using fossil fuels.
As the urgency of climate change becomes ever more apparent, I've been waiting for Toyota to take a decisive step towards a greener future. Toyota may pride itself on its innovation and reliability. But its absence of any concrete plan for EVs in Australia and its greenwashing on Hybrids left me with no choice but to choose another option. I've bought a Hyundai Ionic.
Statistics put Toyota's environmental impact into perspective. In Australia alone, Toyota has consistently held a significant portion of the car market, contributing to substantial new emissions each year. If we look at Toyota's global sales figures and make a rough estimate of its average emissions per vehicle, we're talking about millions of tons of CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere annually. To put this in context, Toyota's emissions rival those of entire countries. This underscores the responsibilities car companies have in fighting climate change.
Ditching Toyota was an essential decision for me because I believe in accountability. My switch to Hyundai is a vote for change. It helps me reduce my family's carbon footprint and supports a company taking proactive measures. Transitioning to an electric vehicle is about more than just personal convenience; it's a statement of intent. By supporting brands and technologies that are actively working to mitigate environmental impacts, consumers can steer industries towards sustainability.
This is not just about saying goodbye to a brand that has let me and the rest of the world down. It's about acknowledging the dire need for change in the face of global climate emergency. It's time for companies to lead by example. And it's time for consumers to drive that change. That's why I've ditched Toyota.
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