Al-Futtaim Motors, exclusive distributor of Toyota in the UAE, has handed over a fleet of Toyota Hybrid Camry vehicles to the Abu Dhabi branch of Cars Taxi, company ushering a new era of environmentally-friendly taxi transportation solutions to the nation’s capital.

The deal comes on the heels of an earlier agreement between the two partners, with the patronage of The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars. Earlier this year, Al-Futtaim Motors handed over a fleet of Toyota Hybrid Camry vehicles, to be used by the Dubai branch of Cars Taxi, offering sustainable public transportation in line with the UAE government’s commitment to a cleaner future environment.

The announcement was made at a handover ceremony attended by Mohammed Darwish Al-Qamzi, General Manager of The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars, Adbuallah Sultan Al Sabbagh, Executive Director Cars Taxi, Jon Williams, Managing Director, Al-Futtaim Motors and a number of senior officials from these companies.

“Camry’s undisputed hybrid credentials as well as its ability to offer performance without compromise while providing the core essentials of best-in-class total cost of ownership (TCO), make it a coveted asset for every major fleet operator,” said Williams. “During a typical 700,000Kms lifecycle, a Toyota Hybrid Camry will achieve a total of 35 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to a conventional vehicle of the same category saving its owner more than AED 50,000 in fuel costs.”

“Cars Taxi’s continued confidence in Hybrid Camry and Al-Futtaim Motors is a great accolade for us. We are hopeful that this groundbreaking partnership will continue to go from strength to strength in tandem with the UAE government’s aspirations for a truly sustainable public transportation sector over the coming years.”

Upon receiving the vehicles, Abdullah Sultan Al Sabbagh, Executive Director, Cars Taxi said: “We are proud to become the first taxi operator to introduce hybrid vehicles in Abu Dhabi in line with our government’s directives designed to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint. Public transportation and taxis have a major role to play in regards to contributing to lower harmful emissions and we will continue to invest in environmentally-friendly solutions to help the government achieve its objectives.

“Our operational experience of Toyota Hybrid Camry Vehicles in our Dubai fleet has been extremely positive as we have benefited from the cars’ durability, low total cost of ownership and lower fuel costs making the decision to introduce it to our Abu Dhabi fleet an easy one,” he added.

“Our own research has shown that the 55 new Camrys that will enter our fleet as a result of this deal will achieve CO2 emission reduction of 3,085 tonnes over 700,000Kms while shaving off more than AED 3 million in fuel costs and parts.” 

Commenting on this occasion, Mohammed Darwish Al-Qamzi, General Manager of The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars, said: “This initiative comes as part of our efforts to provide a cleaner environment. It  has been duly driven forward by Cars Taxi, which has taken fantastic steps in bringing on-board a fleet of hybrid vehicles, with the support of Al-Futtaim Motors. We have provided our support accordingly by developing the proper policies to implement and monitor the hybrid taxi sector in Abu Dhabi, as well as ensuring quality of service, continuity and sustainability of the project’s development according to international best practice.”

Al-Qamzi confirmed that the Centre has placed great importance on maintaining a clean environment, overseeing the largest fleet of vehicles powered by natural gas, in addition to the airport fleet that operates on environmentally friendly diesel, in addition to the new fleet of Camry taxis that uses environmentally friendly power sources.

Al-Qamzi also expressed his excitement at working with Cars Taxi and Al-Futtaim Motors, highlighting the efforts of the Centre in achieving Abu Dhabi’s ambitions and aspirations in providing best in class sustainable services to the public.

This year, Toyota marks 17 years of hybrid technology leadership having sold over 6 million hybrid vehicles with a portfolio that currently offers 23 models worldwide, four times more than any other competitor. Its global hybrid fleet has already saved more than 12 billion litres of fuel and 34 million tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to the same number of equivalent, conventionally powered vehicles. 

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