On February 13, Toyota held a press conference to outline its new management structure. The theme for this new era is "inheritance and evolution." Toyota Times shares the words of incoming President Koji Sato.
Electrification, Intelligence, and Diversification are the keys for a mobility company
Sato
The evolution for which our new management team aims is to transform Toyota into a mobility company.
We will do so under three car-making themes. Electrification, Intelligence, and Diversification.
First is electrification. Energy is what sustains our lives.
Toyota must create cars with energy security in mind and contribute to achieving a carbon-neutral society.
The energy situation varies around the world. That is why we will continue an omni-directional approach without wavering from our multi-pathway.
In that multi-pathway, battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, are also an important option.
Under Master Driver Toyoda, we have been preparing to create BEVs unique to Toyota and Lexus. Through these efforts, we have come to see the kind of BEVs we are aiming for.
Now that the time is right, we will accelerate BEV development with a new approach.
Specifically, we will develop next-generation BEVs for Lexus brand by 2026, with everything from the battery and platform to how a car is built optimized for BEVs, while expanding our current BEV lineup.
Second is intelligence. With more interactive cars, we will make them safer, more comfortable, and more enjoyable.
I believe that there is vehicle intelligence that only a carmaker can achieve. A vast amount of information flows through a car, including driver operation and tire condition. With such, there is a wealth of information that only a carmaker can put to use.
By listening to what cars have to say, and by controlling information to a higher, more integrated degree, we can increase the value of cars in a way that is tailored to each customer, such as by improving fuel efficiency, optimizing ride quality, and supporting safe driving.
The software platform Arene will help us to achieve that world. Arene will also lead to new services through collaboration with dealers and apps. We will continue to work on making cars intelligent through both hardware and software.
We will continue to work on making cars intelligent through both hardware and software.
Third is diversification. Toyota operates all over the world. Customers’ diverse needs and values vary by region and generation. That is why we need diverse options in terms of both products and services.
Take for example the IMV 0 concept vehicle that we unveiled in Thailand last year. By prioritizing ease of customization, we are directly addressing the needs of customers who use pickup trucks in their work.
As a global company with full lineups, we will advance car-making that is in tune with regions and meets diverse needs.
Three priority business themes
Sato
To realize these three themes, our new management team will prioritize three business pillars.
The first is business reform starting with next-generation BEVs.
To deliver attractive BEVs to more customers, we must streamline the structure of the car, and—with a BEV-first mindset—we must drastically change the way we do business, from manufacturing to sales and service. Lexus will lead this transformation.
The second is strengthening our Woven initiatives.
Woven’s mission is to consider, together with Toyota, the shape that mobility, including social infrastructure, should take to create a new mobility society.
It also plays an important role in promoting our concept of vehicle intelligence.
That is why, more than ever, Toyota and Woven will unite to accelerate the development of Arene and strongly pursue demonstration tests in the mobility test course city of Woven City.
And the third is achieving carbon neutrality in Asia.
We will promote demonstrations of electrification and mobility through cross-industry and cross-border collaboration based on a cornerstone partnership with the Charoen Pokphand Group, which is Thailand’s largest private-sector company.
Our new management team will develop specific initiatives for these three pillars.