In a context marked by current social and environmental challenges, the French city has committed to integrating sustainability principles into the 2024 Olympic Games, promising to be “more sustainable, yet equally spectacular.”
Through measures such as using a tool to measure emissions and employing 95% of existing or temporary infrastructure, they aim to halve emissions compared to previous edition.
To reinforce this idea, the adoption of electric mobility will be a reality in this edition of the competition.
How is electromobility being promoted in Paris?
Toyota’s electrifying commitment
As the official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, Toyota will provide the organizing committee, athletes, and volunteers with a fleet of over 2,600 electrified vehicles.
Among these units are SUVs, sedans, shuttles, and personal mobility devices, highlighting the diversity and accessibility of the fleet, including 150 wheelchair-accessible models and 700 personal mobility devices.
According to Jaime Noriega, Technical Design Director of Toyota Motor Europe, “the design for the Paris 2024 vehicle fleet was inspired by symbols of French culture and the art of living.”
Toyota expects to reduce the carbon footprint of the event by 50% compared to previous editions.
Each type of car will be distinguished by colour: blue for hydrogen, green for electric, and purple for hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
Approximately 60% of the fleet will be electric, with models like the Toyota bZ4X, Lexus RZ, Proace, Proace Verson, and Toyota Mirai.
Toyota will provide 500 Mirai cars that, after the Olympic Games, will join the Hype Parisian taxi fleet, bringing the total to 1,500 fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs).
Additionally, 1,000 electric vehicles (EVs), including the models Toyota bZ4X and Proaces, will circulate in Île-de-France, along with 150 Toyota Proace Versos designed specifically for people with reduced mobility.
The fleet will also include 845 hybrids (Corolla Touring Sport and Yaris) and more than 150 plug-in hybrids (mainly RAV4 and Highlander).
Toyota will also focus on the mobility of Paralympic athletes, providing 700 electric personal mobility devices.
These include 200 “3e roue motorisée“, third wheel devices, which transform manual wheelchairs into electric mobility solutions.
Also available will be 60 C+walk S (seated version) and 190 C+walk T (standing version), previously used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Finally, 250 Accessible People Movers (APM), including ten models with camilla, will be deployed to improve the mobility of athletes and the elderly.
These vehicles, produced in Portugal with French batteries, are equipped to transport up to four passengers or two wheelchairs, and will only circulate in secure areas of the Paris Olympic Games.
Furthermore, some of the athletes and all of Toyota’s guests will travel in hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses and coaches.
Toyota has received approval and commendation from French authorities for its two hydrogen-powered Paralympic buses designed for wheelchairs, enabling complete teams of wheelchair basketball or rugby to travel together emission-free during the event.
The firm’s Hospitality fleet of buses and coaches will be supplemented with battery electric coaches.
Other sustainable measures in Île-de-France
To significantly reduce CO2 emissions in Paris, Île-de-France Mobilités, the organizing authority for sustainable mobility in the region, has developed an ambitious programme to decarbonize all modes of public transport.
This includes eliminating diesel buses by the end of 2025 and creating a fleet of clean buses by 2029.
The transformation of the bus ecosystem is underway, adopting biomethane and EVs, and replacing diesel with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
Currently, 35% of the bus fleet consists of clean vehicles, and by 2030, it is expected that 70% of the fleet will run on BioNGV and 30% on electricity.
Additionally, it is planned that by 2025, the entire bus and coach network in urban areas will run on clean energy, with the incorporation of 3,500 new eco-friendly buses between 2025 and 2028.
Moreover, the railway network in the Paris region is almost fully electrified, and it is expected to be completely electrified by 2030, with work on the last non-electrified line.
Improved intermodality and modernized rolling stock will allow the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held without carbon emissions, with all spectators accessing the venues via public transport.
On the other hand, Ekoenergetyka has recently announced the successful delivery of over 1,000 charging stations for Paris, marking the largest project of its kind in France.
Stéphane Batarière, head of Ekoenergetyka-France, expressed pride in partnering with RATP and emphasized the project’s importance: “Our charging stations represent a critical step forward in the development of e-mobility in Paris and across France.”
