CHICAGO -

After reminiscing about his days in Chicago as a graduate student at Northwestern, Toyota’s Yoshi Inaba emphasized why 2012 is such a big year for the Japanese OEM.

Toyota Motor North America’s president and chief operating officer recently told an assembly at The Economic Club of Chicago that the automaker will launch 19 new or updated products this year under the Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands.

And Inaba indicated many of these vehicles either are fuel efficient or a hybrid.

“As long as anyone here can remember, gasoline has been the fuel for cars and trucks in America, and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future,” Inaba acknowledged.

“But fossil fuels are tough on the environment and supplies are not keeping up with growing world demand as countries like China, India and Brazil develop into industrialized nations,” he continued. “And as you well know when demand is high and supplies are low prices soar.

“We see that at the pump now and the U.S. Energy Department is warning that gas supplies may tighten even further this spring and summer, leading to even higher prices. So it’s prudent to explore other alternative fuels and that’s what Toyota is doing,” Inaba went on to say.

To reinforce how Toyota’s fuel-efficient and hybrid strategy has been successful, Inaba brought up the impact of the Prius, the unit that’s been on U.S. roads and franchised dealer showrooms since 2000.

Compared to the average vehicle since 2000, Inaba calculated that the Prius has saved an estimated:

—1.1 billion gallons of gas
—16 million tons of CO2
—$2.9 billion in fuel costs.

“And according to a recent study, if everyone in the U.S. drove a Prius, we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 70,” Inaba estimated.

“That’s why we are introducing an entire family of Prius products to meet the various needs of American consumers, including a plug-in Prius and the new Prius c coming this spring,” he shared.

Beyond the Prius, Inaba also used his Chicago appearance to touch on several other fuel-efficient technologies Toyota is crafting:

—Fine-tuning internal combustion engines and reducing vehicle weight for more mileage and fewer emissions.

—Creating advanced solid-state and metal-air batteries that could double the performance of today’s lithium ion cells.

—Using more carbon-neutral, eco-plastics made from plants to craft interior components for our vehicles.

—Selling a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2015.

“So, depending on the fuels available, we will be ready to meet customer needs no matter where they live,” Inaba insisted.

Furthermore, Inaba praised the leadership of global president Akio Toyoda, who has reached out to a wide array of companies to ensure Toyota products will meet the changing needs of customers and society.

In the last 21 months, Inaba mentioned Toyota has:

—Forged an alliance with Tesla to bring to market an electric RAV4 faster than expected.

—Teamed with Ford to develop hybrid systems for pick-ups and large SUVs.

—Partnered with Microsoft to ensure the latest cloud technology to connect future vehicles anywhere on earth.

—Set up a partnership with computer chip giant Intel to develop better inside-vehicle touch, gesture and voice technologies that can reduce driver distraction

—Formed a partnership with BMW to jointly work on lithium-ion batteries and other environmental technologies.

“So there is more to come from Toyota, a lot more,” Inaba stressed.

“In short, it’s a great time to be in the auto business,” he continued. “We’re entering an era of innovation that will significantly alter transportation in the 21st century. I hope you are getting a sense of the exciting future we can all expect as automakers develop the cars of tomorrow.

“I can’t promise you flying cars or Star Trek remotes that beam you up,” Inaba admitted. “But I can promise you that Toyota and the rest of the auto industry will be eagerly developing cars that look great, are fun to drive, easy on fuel and the environment and will help us reach our dreams in the future.”

Inaba’s entire speech can be found here.