Portland RAV4-EV Program Tops List of Toyota Sustainable Mobility Initiatives

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.,
Inc., made a series of environmental announcements at its "Sustainable
Mobility Seminar" here today, including a plan to put four off-lease RAV4
electric vehicles into operation in the Portland-area. The RAV4-EVs will
help the city and the state of Oregon develop an electric-charging
infrastructure in preparation for the arrival of future zero- and
low-emission vehicles.

The Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar featured a series of
presentations by leading third party experts and company executives. Topics
included: peak liquid oil; the nexus of water land use and energy;
intelligent transportation systems; the CAFE and regulatory environment;
urban design and green building initiatives.

Portland State University will develop a program to use the four
RAV4-EVs as station cars to shuttle people from mass-transit terminals to
downtown and suburban locations. Portland General Electric (PGE) recently
went on-line with its first free-standing public electric-recharging
station and has announced the installation of five additional plug-in
charging stations.

Toyota previously announced plans for a limited-volume placement
program for a new lithium-battery powered plug-in hybrid vehicle that will
be leased to fleet customers beginning in late 2009 in Japan, Europe and
North America. In addition, the company also has announced plans to launch
an all-new battery electric vehicle commuter car in the early 2010s.

"It's obvious that the next several years will see a growing number of
low-emission and no-emission vehicle options, particularly electric and
hybrid vehicles," said George Beard of PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of
Government. "Our region's position in renewable energy and its leadership
reputation in urban sustainability make this partnership a natural for all
involved."

Other announcements made at the Sustainable Mobility Seminar included:

-- Toyota plans to display a CNG-powered Camry hybrid concept vehicle
at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

-- The largest single roof solar power system in North America that
will go into operation in early October at Toyota's North American Parts
Center California, supplying nearly 60 percent of its electricity needs.
The system will cover nearly four football fields and avoid carbon dioxide
emissions of about 6.4 million pounds annually, equivalent to the annual
CO2 emissions from energy use of 255 homes.

-- Five more Toyota dealerships are poised to receive Leadership in
Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC) before the end of the year and as many as 10 more
could be certified in 2009. To date, two Toyota dealerships are the only
dealerships in the country to have received LEED certification.

-- A more than 10 percent reduction in the cost of replacement hybrid
vehicles batteries. In addition, Toyota is studying the business case for
remanufacturing HV batteries in North America to further lower replacement
costs.

Those speaking at the conference included Dr. Peter Wells from NetFlex
Petroleum Consultants, Dr. Tim Barnett from Scipps Institute, Dr. John A.
Merson from Sandia National Laborites, Dr. Jan Kreider from the University
of Colorado and Gordan Feller from the Urban Age Institute.