The greenest automobile brands

International brand consultancy, Interbrand, has released its third annual Best Global Green Brands report, and Toyota came out tops again. From the 50 brands included in the report Toyota has been named the best brand, thereby confirming its consistent environmental leadership for the third time.

Toyota, recognised globally by customers for its commitment to sustainable environmental leadership, was one of the major companies to reduce greenhouse emissions, water and energy consumption throughout its operations.

Toyota is currently in the process of launching its new updated hybrid models globally and it is still the world’s most valuable eco automotive brand according to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 report.

By 2015 Toyota plans to commercialise its hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid vehicle that will feature in the next generation of powertrain technology.

Also commended in the report was Nissan – ranked fifth, having risen 16 places from the previous year’s report. The Nissan LEAF (a 100 percent electric vehicle with components that can also be recycled), has established zero-emissions mobility which has had the positive spin-off of opening up skills development and job possibilities in the local market.

Says Nissan SA managing director Mike Whitfield: “The recognition by Global Green Brands is another boost for Nissan SA’s plans to launch its flagship EV in South Africa in spring this year. The award-winning Nissan LEAF is the world’s first affordable, mass-market, fully electric vehicle and has already been rolled out in Japan, the United States and Europe”.

Nissan South Africa recently partnered with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Eskom to develop programmes, which involve testing the LEAF and evaluating charging characteristics of the vehicle, to design grid solutions for e-mobility.

By 2017, Nissan plans to cut down the weight of its vehicles by 15 percent and aims to collaborate with Daimler and Ford to launch the development of fuel cell cars.