Toyota's eco-friendly race cars complete Thailand’s 10-hour endurance race

ABU DHABI: Toyota participated in the IDEMITSU SUPER ENDURANCE SOUTHEAST ASIA TROPHY 2023 with carbon-neutral racing cars showcasing its commitment to environmental sustainability. The 10-hour endurance race took place at Thailand's Chang International Circuit on December 22 and 23.

Toyota used hydrogen produced locally from the Charoen Pokphand Group for the Thailand 10-hour Endurance Race. The Charoen Pokphand Group is putting lots of effort into achieving a carbon-neutral society in Thailand. 

For rookie racing, it competed with a trio of vehicles including the ORC ROOKIE GR86 CNF concept, a GR86 that runs on carbon-neutral fuel, the ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 concept, Corolla powered partially by hydrogen made with chicken manure generated biogas from Charoen Pokphand Group’s poultry farms and CP ROOKIE PRIUS CNF-HEV GR concept, a hybrid version of the Prius.

Even though these cars didn't achieve the top spots, all of them finished the race. Akio Toyoda, Toyota's chairman stated that the aim was to showcase hybrid and hydrogen cars as eco-friendly options. This instilled the confidence of the Thai people in the Prius and hybrid cars.

Driving a carbon-neutral movement is not something that can be achieved by a single company. It requires collective effort involving transportation, energy producers, and car manufacturing. 

Toyota Motor Thailand organized the GR FESTIVAL 2023 in Bangkok before the race. This event was attended by 2500 motorsports fans and showcased impressive performances by Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Thailand, ROOKIE Racing, and D1 drivers. The IMV0 pickup truck was also showcased during the event.

Also read: Toyota spends 3.5 hours inspecting each Century SUV