---

Toyota Leads the Way with Signing of NLEV Agreement

16 December 1997

Toyota Leads the Way with Signing of NLEV Agreement

    TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 16 -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS),
Inc., announced today that it will sell vehicles nationwide to meet the
recently announced National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) program.
    Vehicles meeting the NLEV program standards emit up to 70 percent fewer
tailpipe emissions than current Federal emission standards and are similar in
emissions to vehicles currently sold in California, New York and
Massachusetts.
    "Toyota has made a pledge to be a world leader in the production of
vehicles that minimize their impact on the environment," said Yoshi Ishizaka,
TMS president and CEO.  "We realize that this pledge carries a responsibility
to not only talk environmentally, but to also act environmentally.  By
voluntarily choosing to sell vehicles nationally that meet NLEV standards, we
are proving our commitment with our actions."
    The National Low Emission Vehicle program, as established by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), allows automakers to voluntarily comply
with tailpipe emission standards nationally that are more strict than can be
mandated by the EPA prior to 2004.  The NLEV program will result in
substantial reductions of non-methane organic gasses (NMOG) and nitrogen
oxides (NOx), both of which contribute to unhealthy levels of air quality.
Under the provisions of the NLEV program, manufacturers may choose to
participate or not.
    "It is important to note, though, that the NLEV program will not succeed
unless each state and every automaker joins Toyota in supporting clean air
nationwide," continued Ishizaka.
    As a further example of the company's commitment to the production of
environmentally conscious vehicles, Toyota Motor Corporation recently
announced that the Prius hybrid-electric vehicle went on sale in Japan in
December, making Toyota the first company in the world to market a mass-
produced hybrid vehicle.  The Prius offers greater fuel efficiency and cleaner
emissions than a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle with greater range and
performance than a pure electric vehicle.
    Starting with the pure electric RAV4-EV -- already on sale to fleet
buyers, moving to the Prius hybrid and then to research into a methanol fuel
cell-powered vehicle, Toyota is taking steps to ensure that the vehicles of
the future offer all the use and utility that consumers will demand and the
efficiency and cleanliness the environment requires.

SOURCE  Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS), Inc.