Toyota Drops Funding for Germany Anti-Diesel Group
Toyota Motor Corp. has dropped financial support for a German anti-diesel group in response to complaints that it sponsorship helped to promote sales of its own gasoline hybrid cars in Europe.
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Toyota Motor Corp. has dropped financial support for a German anti-diesel group in response to complaints that it sponsorship helped to promote sales of its own gasoline hybrid cars in Europe.
The decision came one day after The Nikkei reported on complaints by German politicians about its contributions to Environmental Action Germany.
Toyota, which accounts for more than half of hybrid sales in Germany, has contributed to EAG on a project-by-project basis for about 20 years, according to the newspaper. This year EAG has won court rulings that have imposed partial diesel bans in some cities to help bring their air quality up to European Union standards.
This year Toyota spent €30,000 ($34,000), or 0.3% of EAG’s annual budget, to support two projects, according to the group. One initiative maintains a list of cars driven by the country’s top politicians, business executives and civil servants. The second is a tally of the type of vehicles used in German taxi fleets. Toyota models are rare in both fleets.
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