Toyota powers up Paris Olympics
The Olympic and Paralympic Games come with a curious environmental twist. We can all watch the world’s greatest athletes performing amazing feats of skill and endurance across multiple disciplines using nothing more than the power of the human body. At the same time, the infrastructure and organisation required for a global event on this scale is often much less green. It’s a difficult balance to get right, and one that Toyota is taking very seriously with its range of vehicles to support the running of this year’s Paris Olympics.
Toyota has made the first deliveries of vehicles to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, as the worldwide mobility partner of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee.
The Japanese carmaker’s commitment to making Paris 2024 a showcase of sustainable mobility includes ensuring that athletes, stakeholders, staff, volunteers, and spectators can move around safely, with reduced environmental impact.
The Paris 2024 fleet key handover ceremony took place on 1 March. This event marked the collaboration between Toyota and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
During the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, all Toyota vehicles, including the electrified fleet and advanced mobility solutions, will adopt a specially designed Paris 2024 visual identity. The design is intended to emphasise Toyota’s multi-path approach to carbon neutrality, with each of the technologies in use easily identifiable through dedicated colours.
The colours for each of Toyota’s technologies were carefully chosen.
Hydrogen vehicles will be blue to represent the colour of water, the only emission emitted by the vehicle tailpipe, while green was – unsurprisingly – chosen for the battery electric vehicles. Hybrid and PHEV vehicles will be finished in purple, reflecting the third colour of the Paris 2024 competition sites.
The Olympic fleet provided by Toyota includes a range of cars and 100% electrified passenger vehicles with carbon emissions reduction at its core. Overall, Toyota will provide more than 2,650 electrified passenger vehicles of which 150 are wheelchair accessible.
Around 60% of the fleet will have zero-tailpipe emissions, including Toyota bZ4X, Proace and Proace Verso, and Lexus RZ EVs, and the hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Mirai. Toyota will provide 500 of its hydrogen-fuelled Mirai, and after the Games have closed all 500 of them will join the existing Paris hydrogen taxi fleet.
Even the forklift trucks, as well as some of the trucks they unload will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
In addition to zero tailpipe emission vehicles, Toyota will also bring around 1,000 hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles – Toyota’s best-selling RAV4 in both PHEV and HEV versions, as well as Toyota Corolla TS, Yaris Cross, and Highlander, all with hybrid technology.
Toyota will also make available around 250 of its C+Walk personal battery electric scooters in both seated and standing configuration. Both have a maximum speed of around 3mph and are fitted with front obstacle detection systems to ensure the safety of the drivers and those nearby. The seated version will be available to athletes, organisers, and volunteers, whereas the standing version will be distributed to staff and volunteers to facilitate their movement around the Paris 2024 venues.
Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024 said: “Working with Toyota as the global mobility partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 enables us to act towards a more accessible and inclusive mobility, and a more responsible one too, as we focus on our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in every aspect of the Paris 2024 Games.”
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024. The Paralympics will follow, commencing on 28 August and running until 8 September.
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