(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 26, 2001 ) During testimony before the California Air Resources Board (ARB), a Toyota executive today expressed the automaker's support for changes to the proposed state regulation which would shift focus from a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate to overall air quality goals. "The proposed modifications, coupled with creation of an independent assessment panel to help ARB evaluate propulsion technologies, can help set a new direction and lend greater effectiveness to the ZEV program," said Jim Olson, senior vice president of External and Regulatory Affairs for Toyota Motor North America. Olson noted ARB staff efforts to address the shortcomings of purely Zero Emission Vehicles by cutting back the required number of vehicles and filling out the requirement with credits for partial zero emission vehicles (PZEVs) such as gasoline/electric hybrids. "Toyota commends this effort to balance demands from various stakeholders," he said. "And we applaud the significant shift in focus to other technologies that we believe have more current and future marketplace promise." Successful Prius Hybrid Vehicle Citing an example of a marketable solution that is a bridge to even more advanced technologies, Olson said that Toyota's successful Prius hybrid vehicle relies partially on electric power but remains affordable by combining a battery and a small Super Ultra Low Emission (SULEV) gasoline engine. Prius delivers more than 80 percent better fuel economy and 90 percent fewer emissions than a comparable internal-combustion vehicle. Olson also called attention to several problems remaining with the proposed ZEV regulation: Manufacturers must "sell" battery electric vehicles, not just "offer them for sale." Toyota doubts the marketability of battery electric vehicles, he said. If approved, the regulation will be adopted by other states such as New York and Massachusetts "vastly increasing the cost burden on automakers and siphoning resources away from the development of more promising clean-air technologies here in California," he added. The proposed regulation contains no provision for expert public review of the marketplace readiness or future potential of advanced technologies. Olson added that Toyota fully supports the introduction of advanced technologies and understands that the ARB must answer to many constituencies. He pledged that Toyota would continue to work with ARB staff to further improve the regulation and submitted a list of suggested changes. Despite the remaining problems, he affirmed that Toyota will "do its best" to comply, if the regulation is approved. "We believe in environmental stewardship and customer satisfaction," he said. "That's why we hate to be caught in a conflict among a government mandate, the limitations of technology and the demands of the marketplace." Olson called successful regulation "the art of combining the desirable and the doable" and said that Toyota wants to work with ARB to "find a better way to create market-driven public policies that lead consumers where the environment needs them to go without wasting public and private resources." Note to editors: Full text of Mr. Olson's testimony is available online at www.toyota.com. Text and additional information available at Toyota's media web site: http://pressroom.toyota.com. Password required for access to media site and may be requested online. -------------------Produced for ToyotaContact: Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Media Relations Department Mike Michels (310) 468 7730, mike_michels@toyota.com -------------------

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