Cars & Autos | Thursday 24 August, 2017 4:00 am |

Toyota was the recipient of an Altair Enlighten Award for its use of innovative weight reducing vehicle closure systems at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars at Traverse City, Michigan. The awards program honored Toyota for its’ use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) inner panels on the Prius Prime liftgate and Lexus LC 500 side doors and luggage hatch.

In cooperation with Altair, SAE International and CAR, the Altair Enlighten Awards is the industry’s only awards program that focuses specifically on innovation in vehicle weight reduction. This year marks the program’s fifth year of honoring such achievements.

Toyota’s winning entry involved the company’s expansion of CFRP outside the domain of exotic vehicles. With this new lightweighting technology, the Prius Prime attained a 40% weight savings, compared to an equivalently sized aluminum liftgate.  The Lexus LC 500 registered a 47% weight reduction on its side door and a 40% weight reduction on its luggage hatch, compared to conventional steel structures.

For Toyota, lightweighting these systems was prioritized to boost battery life and improve liftgate usability for the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid technology, whereas the weight reduction in the Lexus LC 500 was geared toward enhancing the coupe’s dynamic performance.

“Toyota is -and has always been- a pioneer in the development of new technologies that have caused quantum leaps in global car manufacturing,” Mazen Jameel, Marketing Director of Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, the Kingdom’s authorized Toyota distributor, commented on Toyota’s award, said. “This was achieved through various innovations designed to raise quality standards, reliability and practicality, as well as providing a more convenient and enjoyable drive.”

“The secret behind our customers’ loyalty and their enthusiasm for Toyota automobiles might be the company’s commitment to ensuring the highest quality standards and the continued development of all its products. This prestigious award truly conveys the latter, and is a true reflection of Toyota’s esteemed status amidst the biggest car manufacturers in the world, no matter how high the demands and aspirations of its customers get.”

The renowned relationship between Toyota and Abdul Latif Jameel Motors was established more than half a century ago, and has developed into one of the most remarkable automotive forces in the Kingdom.

Abdul Latif Jameel Motors is one of the largest independent, certified Toyota dealers in the world. Under its policy of “putting the guest first” and its commitment to achieving excellence in all areas of expertise, Abdul Latif Jameel Motors supports the widespread use of Toyota vehicles in the Saudi market through an extensive network of sales and maintenance centers that are strategically located around the Kingdom and are designed to provide peace of mind for the company’s guests, wherever they may be.