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Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota HQ goes solar, CARB fights methane

Opel denies allegations about illegal emissions software as the German transport ministry begins its review. Opel has turned documents over to German authorities, and promises to hold a "constructive dialogue" while answering any lingering questions, says the automaker. Opel says that "the allegations reflect a wrong understanding of how diesel engines work." As German magazine Der Spiegel renewed questions about a cheat device similar to those used by Volkswagen, Opel reiterates, "We do not have any software that recognizes whether a vehicle is undergoing an exhaust emissions test." Read more at Automotive News Europe. South Korean President Park Geun-hye suggests that Seoul and Paris work together on the promotion of fuel cell technology. French industrial gases company Air Liquide manufactures liquid hydrogen, while Korean automaker Hyundai has already deployed its Tucson Fuel Cell crossover in select markets around the world. The two companies have signed a deal to cooperate on hydrogen technology. President Park visited an Air Liquide research center during a trip to Europe, where she said that a partnership between Hyundai and Air Liquide can help their countries stay ahead in the fuel cell vehicle market. Read more from Green Car Congress. CARB is proposing new rules for oil and gas facilities that would reduce methane emissions by more than 50 percent. The system, treatment, operation, and device standards would apply to onshore and offshore oil and gas production, storage, processing, and transmission facilities, covering procedures for leak detection and repair, equipment replacement, record keeping, and data reporting. "Methane emissions from the oil and gas industry contribute to California's [greenhouse gas] emissions and cost-effective reduction opportunities already exist and are available for use in the sector," CARB says. "In addition, reducing methane emissions from this sector will help slow the rate of climate change in the near-term and have an immediate beneficial impact on climate change." A hearing is scheduled for July 21 to discuss the proposal. Read more from SNL. Toyota's new Plano, Texas campus will get 25 percent of its energy from the sun. As Toyota plans to move into its new North American headquarters next year, it is building a 7.75-megawatt solar system to provide renewable energy for its operations. The solar arrays will be built atop three parking structures by the end of 2017.

Toyota has now sold over 7 million hybrids

You take your victories where you can. In Toyota's case, that means disclosing the cumulative total of hybrid sales since the first Prius was sold in Japan in 1997. And that number is impressive. During its monthly conference call discussing sales, Toyota representatives noted that the automaker has sold over 7 million hybrids during the past 17 years. The Japanese automaker started selling the Prius in the Japan in 1997 (and in US in 2000) and firmly established itself as the world's largest hybrid maker. Today, Toyota sells four Prius models as well as gas-electric versions of the Camry, Avalon and Highlander in the US. Of course, such big sales aren't always easy to match, and Toyota's been lagging behind 2013's numbers all year. Including its Lexus division, Toyota's green-car sales including the low-volume RAV4 electric vehicle fell 10 percent from a year earlier in September to just over 21,000 vehicles. Through the first three quarters of the year, Toyota's green-car sales were down 9.1 percent to almost 247,000 vehicles. That still dwarfs any other automakers' green-car numbers. Toyota crossed the 6 million hybrid threshold in January when it doubled the 3 million total from March 2011. Toyota will start selling its first mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle in Europe next summer, and hopes that it will repeat the long-term success that the Prius has enjoyed, according to Automotive News Europe. For a transcript of the September sales call, click here.

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.