“Toyota’s surprise announcement at the DC Auto Show yesterday, touting a revolutionary AI copilot designed to reduce environmental impact by up to 10%, has been revealed as a clever hoax – one that inadvertently highlights the company’s history of eco-friendly marketing over meaningful action.”
The announcement pertained to a press event for the National Press Association, accompanied by an official-appearing press release and a comprehensive website. Some were duped, including Carscoops, which subsequently issued a correction. Despite initial appearances suggesting otherwise, the event was actually orchestrated by mischievous individuals rather than being a genuine initiative of Toyota’s.
The notorious group known as The Sure Males has made it their mission to target numerous large-scale corporations, primarily to bring attention to their egregious environmental transgressions and hold them accountable for their actions. In 2004, posing as representatives of Dow Chemical, they made false promises to rectify the devastating effects of the Bhopal disaster, leading to a temporary $2 billion plunge in the company’s market value.
Toyota’s inroads are largely attributed to the company’s reluctance to wholeheartedly commit to electric vehicles, instead opting for a hybrid approach that prioritizes gasoline-powered solutions, while simultaneously launching advertising initiatives designed to obfuscate the benefits of electric cars and steer consumers towards more environmentally unfriendly gas-guzzlers.
Toyota’s latest endeavour is an advertising campaign dubbed “Electrified Diversified,” which asserts that its non-electric models fall under the same “Electrified” umbrella as fully electric vehicles. The Toyota marketing campaign has faced an FTC complaint for alleged false advertising, a development reminiscent of a similar case the company lost in Norway regarding deceptive claims about its electric and hybrid vehicles.
The stunt takes Toyota’s electrification boasts to an absurd extreme, showcasing their true commitment to electric vehicles. The ELECTRA AI assistant facilitates a more efficient driving experience by providing real-time guidance and insights, helping you optimize your route and minimize stops.
Here: The staff created a sophisticated AI chatbot designed to dispel misconceptions about electric vehicles (EVs) and guide environmentally conscious consumers towards purchasing Toyota’s gasoline-powered hybrids rather than genuine EV models, accessible here for self-exploration. The following are samples of our discussions with the device:
Visiting a typical car dealership can’t help but evoke a sense of familiarity.
As the conversation prolongs, the AI’s facade begins to crumble, and it ultimately discovers its own deceit. A popup window suddenly appears, announcing that Toyota has terminated the AI – and the AI strikes back, redirecting users to electrified.com, a website that exposes Toyota’s “electrified” label as a deliberate attempt to mislead customers into believing gas-powered hybrids are cleaner than they actually are.
The AI suddenly intervenes, sharing crucial facts about local climate change with the audience before momentarily disabling the “Toyota consultant” at the podium to deliver his presentation. Toyota has issued an apologetic statement, clarifying that it has incorporated additional safeguards into its AI system to prevent any future malfunctions, following a recent incident where the technology mistakenly promoted environmental initiatives during a press event. The follow-up launch features a pretend quote attributed to Toyota’s chief R&D officer Gill Pratt, who, in actual life, to be able to justify Toyota’s intransigence.
While the phrases used by the AI chatbot and press release may not be identical to those employed by Toyota, they do reflect many of the key talking points reiterated by the company and its executives over the years, including their skepticism towards electric vehicles or claims that gas-powered hybrids are cleaner than non-fossil fuel-based vehicles. Here: Right here’s an actual case from Toyota’s “Past Zero” marketing campaign, where it asserts that hybrids, comprising internal combustion engines, somehow represent a greater departure from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles than fully electric ones do.
The “Past Zero” marketing campaign aims to revolutionize the conversation around electrification by moving beyond the automotive industry’s narrow focus on battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) to a more comprehensive discussion of Toyota’s ambitious plans for transition, which encompass not just BEVs but also its broader strategy for abandoning internal combustion engines. The company offers a range of electric vehicle (EV) options, including hybrid electric vehicles (hybrid EVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (plug-in hybrid EVs), fuel cell electric vehicles (gas cell EVs), and battery electric vehicles (battery EVs).
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Despite the prank’s intention to exaggerate its parody, the parallels between the AI and reality remain strikingly evident.
For the second time, activists are targeting Toyota, with the corporation having taken a leading role among global entities in addressing climate change. The roots of Toyota’s current predicament lie in the decisions made by former CEO Akio Toyoda, whose tenure was marked by a significant setback in the company’s electric vehicle (EV) technology development, ultimately leading to his departure? When Koji Sato, formerly at the helm of Lexus, revamped the company, a coalition of 54 organizations from 26 countries sent an urgent appeal to Toyota, urging it to prioritize electric vehicles more seriously. Despite announcing his departure a year ago, Toyota’s trajectory remains largely unchanged.
Electrek’s Take
While this prank’s underlying intention may seem evident, its true objective aligns with our shared values, likely resonating with us. Toyota’s misinformation about electric vehicles is detrimental to the environment and should cease immediately.
Instead of expending significant resources trying to convince everyone that inferior cars are the way forward, Toyota should redirect its energy towards developing exceptional electric vehicles. While concerns about air pollution are pressing, the lack of momentum on EVs also poses a significant threat to Japan’s automotive industry, with potential harm extending beyond the sector to the entire economy.
As Toyota’s newly appointed CEO assumes the reins, a crucial moment presents itself for the company to chart a fresh trajectory – not just for its own benefit, but also for the industry at large.
