Toyota Motor Focuses on “Local Information” to Promote Product Development for Specific Markets

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Toyota Motor product development markets hardware software Woven Planet Group overseas development bases products and services employment staffing Woven Alpha vehicle software platform Arene local information road conditions OTA global R&D bases connected Technology ASEAN China India Japan Thailand UAE UK USA software development e-CRB Toyota Central R&D Labs Woven Core (formerly TRI-AD) Woven Alpha Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) Toyota Motor North America Calty Design Research Toyota Research Institute (TRI) Toyota Motor Europe Toyota Europe Design Development Toyota GAZOO Racing Europe Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor (TFTM) GAC Toyota Motor BYD Toyota EV Technology (BTET) United Fuel Cell System R&D (Beijing) Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing product planning design engineering trial production vehicle evaluation AI research autonomous driving technology Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) battery development evaluation basic research WEC event GR series environmental technology certification EV fuel cell systems Daihatsu Motor Hino Motors Toyota Auto Body Toyota Motor East Japan TRI-AD carbon neutrality (CN) geofence DCM peripheral devices Lexus Safety System+ Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama (TTCS) Lexus building Messe building clay modeling designers technicians site area test course driving environments road surfaces elevation change BEV R&D joint venture Guangdong quality and safety standards development capabilities market needs workforce Beijing SinoHytec FAW Group Dongfeng Motor GAC Motor BAIC Motor fuel cell system regulations

Toyota Motor is shifting its focus from hardware to software and is strengthening its software development capabilities. The company is collaborating with Woven Planet Group, Toyota Connected, and Toyota's overseas development bases to promote the development of software that transforms information into products and services. As of August 2021, Toyota’s software development network employed around 3,000 people. Woven Alpha is developing the vehicle software platform Arene which develops and implements software ahead of hardware, shifting to a software-first vehicle development method. In addition, Toyota aims to collect “local information” because road conditions and how cars are used differ depending on the country or region, promoting product development suited for the local market. Furthermore, Toyota intends to respond to the changing market and user needs even after sales by updating vehicle software with OTA.