Toyota Motor Sales Dominates Auto Club Green Car List

Sep 26, 2013 4:00 PM ET

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2013 /3BL Media/ – California drivers looking for a green vehicle at a good value need look no further. Toyota, Lexus and Scion took top honors in the 2013 Green Car Guide, published today by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Six of the top ten overall green vehicle and “best value” scores are held by the Toyota family.

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV compact SUV achieved the highest overall green car score in the history of Green Car Guide, followed by the Lexus GS 450h hybrid luxury sedan, Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV and Camry Hybrid sedan with the second, third and fourth highest scores respectively. The Scion iQ micro-subcompact and xD subcompact achieved top five honors in the cost per point or “best value” rankings.

"Toyota, partnering with Tesla, has produced an impressive full electric compact SUV that is the top scoring Green Car ever tested by the Auto Club's Automotive Research Center," said Automotive Research Center Manager and Chief Engineer Steve Mazor. "The RAV4 EV has excellent acceleration, zero tailpipe emissions and a real 100+ mile range, while maintaining roominess and flexibility."

The Green Car Guide is produced annually by the Auto Club’s Automotive Research Center. The 2013 guide contains information on nearly 80 hybrids, battery electric vehicles, partial zero emission vehicles, compressed natural gas powered vehicles, clean diesels and fuel economy leaders. The guide is designed to help new vehicle buyers with reviews and rankings of low-emission and fuel efficient vehicles.

“Anyone who has a passion for fun, affordable and environmentally friendly vehicles will find what they’re looking for in this guide,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. senior vice president of automotive operations. “Customers are interested in this type of unbiased data and we’re proud to see our Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles recognized in such a prominent way.”

Green Car Guide vehicles are evaluated in a number of categories including EPA fuel economy, vehicle emissions, handling, interior noise and cargo capacity. Vehicles are scored from zero to ten in each evaluation category and scores totaled to determine overall green vehicle leaders. The cumulative scores are then divided by vehicle MSRP to determine cost per point or “best value” rankings.

To view the 2013 Green Car Guide, please visit www.AAA.com/greenerdriving.

2013 Toyota Motor Sales Green Car Guide rankings:

Overall Green Score: Cost Per Point/”Best Value” Score

#1 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV #4 2013 Scion iQ

#2 2013 Lexus GS 450h #5 Scion xD

#3 2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

#4 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid

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CONTACTS: Jana Hartline, Toyota jana_hartline@toyota.com

Allison Takahashi, Lexus Allison_takahashi@toyota.com

Craig Taguchi, Scion craig_taguchi@toyota.com

Media Web site: http://pressroom.toyota.com