NEW YORK, April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventeen years ago, Toyota put the finishing touches on the very first Prius. It was the beginning of a revolution of green transportation that has taken over the world by storm, and to this day Toyota continues to lead the industry through its research by designing environmentally sustainable solutions for the road. In order to celebrate its ongoing commitment, Toyota has partnered with Earth Day New York as the official automotive sponsor for the second year in a row.

On April 22 in New York City's beautiful Union Square, Toyota will show off its stylish hybrid fleet as the vehicles head down the runway in a Green Vehicle Fashion Show. Attendees will be able to check out the differences between the Plug-in, Prius C and Hatch as all will be on display throughout the day.

Toyota wants to extend Earth Day to every day in 2014 by spreading the word on how to live a greener life, so be sure to grab a handful of eco-friendly "Green Bits" on Tuesday. Toyota encourages participants to post their Green Bits on social media using the hashtag #GreenItABit, and will donate one dollar to Earth Day New York for the first 1,500 posts.

With more than 2 million Toyota hybrid vehicles on U.S. roads – more than any other manufacturer – and new breakthroughs in plug-in, electric and hydrogen fuel-cell technologies, Toyota continues to build better cars for the road and for the Earth.

"While we're out here celebrating Earth Day with our fellow drivers and environmentally focused friends, our top designers and engineers are working on the next big innovation: fuel-cell technology," remarks Steve Haag, assistant general manager of Toyota's New York Region. "Just this past week at the New York International Auto Show we shared our latest concept as an example of how far we've come, and we're very excited about the years ahead."

Earth Day New York is free to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Union Square.

Media: Toyota, Earth Day New York and its additional sponsors will hold a press conference on April 22 at 10:30 a.m., followed by the green vehicle fashion show and live entertainment throughout the afternoon. Interested in attending? Let us know and we'll send more details and put you on the list.

For more information about what makes Toyota a champion for green living, visit: http://www.toyota.com/usa/environment/index.html.

About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. 

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.  (NYSE:TM) 

For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com. Consumers interested in learning more about the Toyota Car of the Future can visit www.toyota.com/fuelcell.

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Contact: 
Patrick Ehlen 
Toyota NY Merchandising Manager 
Patrick_ehlen@toyota.com 
973-882-6209

Danielle Coe 
SHIFT Communications for Toyota 
dcoe@shiftcomm.com 
415-591-8448

Joanna Black  
Earth Day New York 
jblack@earthdayny.org 
646-912-2681 

SOURCE Toyota