LeadernavigatingEVs,greengoals,carculture

• Published date: 17 August 2021
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)

As shown by many carmakers pledging to go all-electric over the next two decades, there is a growing consensus the shift is all but inevitable.

But the challenge now facing the industry is that manufacturers need to find a way to wean their customers off gas-guzzlers, while simultaneously making sure they sell enough fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles to offset the loss.

It is a tough balancing act, made all the more difficult by time pressures imposed by government regulations.

There is perhaps no better example of a company caught between these two worlds in New Zealand than Toyota.

On the one hand, the company’s top-selling vehicle remains the Hilux ute, and on the other, the hybrid Prius has become the universal symbol of Uber drivers — a group more interested in fuel efficiency than most drivers.

The Toyota Yaris ZR hybrid, Lexus RX hybrid and Hilux Mako in Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala’s driveway are testament to the dual forces powering the company’s business model, but also presenting some of its biggest challenges.

Mr Lala was flung into the deep end of this challenge when he was appointed to the top job a year ago, following the resignation of Alistair Davis.

In some ways it was a moment Mr Lala had been preparing for since 1998, when he graduated from Massey University and walked straight into his first role at the motor company.

However, he would never have been able to predict his baptism of fire would involve navigating a pandemic as it wreaked havoc on supply chains and consumer confidence, while also ensuring Toyota was not left behind in the electric vehicle race.

This tightrope between short-term challenges and longer-term objectives is something Mr Lala has had to become accustomed to every step of the way in his short tenure as just the fifth chief executive to lead the company in the New Zealand market.

The Government upped the ante on the electric challenge this year by setting a target to reduce our emissions from 180g per km travelled to 105g per km by 2025, for all imported cars.

Critics have questioned whether the deadline is realistic, given the competition New Zealand faces with other nations all pursuing a similar agenda to reduce their carbon emissions.

So how does Mr Lala see it? Is four years enough time to meet the Government’s deadline?

‘‘The penalties will start to kick in from 2023,’’ he says, indicating the runway is even shorter than the objective suggests.

‘‘We don’t currently have a pure...