In an eye-catching bid to show that cars can be clean while appealing to old-school petrolheads, Toyota on Friday showcased zero-emission versions of its 1980s sports range, which still boasts a strong global fan base.
At an industry event for customized cars in Chiba, the Japanese automaker unveiled two cars of the AE86 generation, one modified as a battery-electric vehicle and the other as a hydrogen-engine model.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said remodeling existing cars needed to be explored as an option to achieve a goal of zero-carbon emissions by 2050. In Japan, only 1 in about 20 cars on the road are new, and older ones are mainly powered at least partly by gasoline.
"It's important to leave a choice for cars that are already loved or owned by someone," Toyoda, a self-confessed car-lover and race-car driver, said at the event.
A relative newcomer to the mass EV market, Toyota has plans to invest $70 billion to electrify its vehicles and produce more batteries, and aims to sell at least 3.5 million battery electric models in 2030.