Toyota New Zealand is part of a new community car-leasing coalition called Waka Aronui. Launched in Favona, Auckland, the scheme allows 20 families to lease used hybrid Corolla wagons for a set fee of $95 per week.
The lease covers Warrant of Fitness, registration, insurance, servicing, repairs and a new set of tyres every year. The families simply fuel the vehicles.
The concept behind Waka Aronui originated at a Financial Services Federation forum in 2018 and was picked up by the Akina Foundation. The project is being run by the Manukau Urban Maori Authority, with start-up and pilot funding provided by Toyota, the Tindall Foundation (which provided a $200,000 low interest impact investment loan), Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Waka Kotahi and Auckland Council.
The programme is ostensibly similar to a car-leasing programme announced by the Government as part of its Emissions Reduction Plan. Waka Aronui is not currently part of that $20m scheme, although it’s likely to apply to the fund.
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Toyota NZ chief executive officer Neeraj Lala says the scheme is right for the company because it addresses a “societal need”.
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“As a builder of affordable cars, it has always been Toyota’s view that the transition to a low emission future should be accessible and affordable for everyone.”
Louise Aitken is a former chief executive of the Akina Foundation, now with TNZ as a partner in circular and climate innovation: “As a member of this scheme we are embracing our responsibility to be a sustainable business and we are demonstrating our thinking as a future-focused mobility company.”