Toyota, China did not sign pledge to phase out fossil-fuel cars by 2040

The future of mobility leans towards electric vehicles (EV) with several countries announcing their respective timeline in banning internal combustion vehicles or fossil-fuel cars. COP26, which is this year’s United Nations climate change conference, aims to further reaffirm the global transition to zero-emissions vehicles by 2040.

COP26 aims to reaffirm the global transition to zero-emissions vehicles by 2040

A number of automakers signed the agreement to stop selling new cars that produce emissions. This is to cut carbon emissions that play a significant role in mitigating global warming. The said agreement is in line with COP26’s declaration on accelerating the transition to 100 percent zero-emission cars.

Automakers that signed the agreement are expected to work towards reaching 100 percent zero-emission new car and van sales in leading markets by 2035, and globally by 2040. Carmakers such as Ford, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and BYD signed the agreement. 

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But the world’s top two car manufacturers, Toyota and Volkswagen, were not part of the signatories. A report by BBC News also cited that Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and Renault were not among the carmakers that signed the agreement. 

The report added that Volkswagen Group decided not to sign the petition since it is “just being realistic” as it believes that an “accelerated shift to electro mobility has to go in line with an energy transition towards 100% renewables."

Meanwhile, Japanese automaker Toyota previously said that it aims to make its assembly plants worldwide carbon neutral by 2035. Toyota chief production officer Masamichi Okada pledged this goal in an online presentation, coinciding with a meeting of the G7 leaders in Britain to discuss climate change.   

“We are striving to achieve green factories. Carbon neutrality provides us with an opportunity to fundamentally rethink manufacturing,” he said.

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Last 2020, Toyota managed to sell around 9.53 million vehicles globally while Volkswagen registered 9.31million cars sold. Volkswagen is a huge multinational car manufacturing corporation, which owns the likes of Audi AG, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Skoda, and many other automotive marques. 

On the other hand, also missing from the signatories are two countries that have the largest car markets, which are China and the United States. The biggest car market in the European Union, Germany, is also not part of the signatories.

"Without the US, China and Germany on board, we are not going to get vehicle emissions where we need to be by 2050," said University of Birmingham Business School Professor David Bailey.

The COP26 is held in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31 to November 12. It was supposed to take place last year but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philkotse is driven to give you the latest updates in the automotive industry.