Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky recently announced it donated three hybrid vehicles to Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC). Accordingly, the vehicles — a Camry, an Avalon, and a Lexus, each ranging from 2018-19 — will provide students an opportunity to learn the latest technology in the automotive world.
Read more of our news content, here; Low-carbon hydrogen strategy introduced in British Columbia
About the donation
Indeed, this hybrid vehicle initiative is part of OCTC’s automotive technology program. Accordingly, it prepares students for entry-level service technician jobs in the auto-repair industry. Thus, through an education program in troubleshooting, students can learn to perform preventative maintenance and servicing and repairing vehicles.
In this sense, OCTC Dean of Academic Affairs, Stacy Edds-Ellis, commented that the school aims to offer students a chance to work and learn the hybrid vehicles; particularly because they are “becoming more mainstream.”
Moreover, “this donation will grant our students the access and experience to gain the skills necessary to pursue in-demand positions upon graduation,” Edds-Ellis said.
Reception
Similarly, Mike Rodgers, OCTC’s chief institutional officer, said the school is grateful to Toyota for its donation of vehicles; both in the past and in the present. Besides, he stated that having actual hybrid vehicles for students to work with “truly enhances the program.”
On the same page, Kim Ogle, Toyota Kentucky corporation communications manager, said the company believes it has the responsibility for partnering with educational institutions. Particularly since the company can support career readiness programs that will help develop the future workforce.
Thus, “our goal is to help prepare students for future workforce success,” said Ogle. Also, to “expose them to an industry that is a vital component of Kentucky’s economy.”
About Toyota’s hybrid vehicles
Indeed, Toyota currently offers eleven hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell cars. This is worth noting since this vehicle type is rapidly increasing. For instance, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, these vehicles held 2% of the light vehicle market in 2019. Similarly, plug-in hybrids, or fully electric vehicles, accounted for 2.1% of the same year’s light vehicle market.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, hybrid electric vehicles are those cars powered by an internal combustion engine; and an electric motor that uses energy stored in the car’s batteries. Thus, the vehicle is fueled by gasoline to operate the engine; similarly, the batteries are charged through regenerative braking and not by plugging it in.
