Latest news with #AkioToyoda
News18
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- News18
Toyota Drops BMW For Next-Gen Supra, Global Debut In 2027
The outgoing A90 Supra was powered by a 3.0-litre inline-six engine from BMW and shared its base with the Z4. Toyota is all set to roll out the sixth-generation Supra in 2027. But this time, the iconic sports car will be developed entirely in-house, unlike the current A90 model which was created in partnership with BMW, as per Best Car. The A90 Supra, which hit markets in 2019, borrowed its engine and platform from BMW's Z4. However, it proved to be a bigger hit than its German cousin. Reports say Toyota sold over 24,000 units in five years – nearly double that of the Z4. What's Under the Bonnet? The upcoming Supra is expected to feature a 2.0-litre turbocharged hybrid engine, built in-house by Toyota. With nearly 400 BHP and 500 Nm of torque, it promises an exciting mix of power and performance. Toyota is also planning to make this Supra more eco-friendly. Along with petrol, the engine might support carbon-neutral fuels. The hybrid setup will include a motor generator and a clutch, allowing the car to run solely on electric power when needed. Gearbox options haven't been confirmed yet, but Toyota could offer either a 10-speed or an 8-speed automatic transmission. What Else is Toyota Planning? Why Does It Matter? When Akio Toyoda boldly said, 'Supra is back" in 2019, it was more than just a car launch. It marked the return of one of Toyota's most beloved sports cars after 17 years. With this new version, Toyota is ready to reclaim the Supra's legendary status – this time, on its own terms. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Toyota Chairman Expresses Willingness to Import Firm's U.S.-Made Vehicles to Japan; Sees Chance to Increase Model Choices
Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters on Saturday in Hita, Oita Prefecture, that he is willing to import to Japan the company's vehicles manufactured in the United States in the wake a Japan-U.S. agreement in bilateral tariff negotiations. 'There are many car models that are not sold in Japan,' Toyoda said. Although he declined to name specific models to be imported to Japan, it is believed that he is considering the Camry sedan, which is no longer manufactured and sold in Japan, and pickup truck models. As a result of the agreement, U.S.-made passenger cars whose safety is secured under Japanese standards can be imported without undergoing additional safety tests. Toyoda's remark is based on this aspect of the deal. If Toyota imports its own products manufactured in the United States to Japan, it is possible that the trade deficit with the United States will be reduced. Because the range of choices will increase as a result of the tariff agreement that makes it easier to import U.S.-made cars, 'It's good for consumers,' Toyoda said.
The Star
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Toyota's internal inertia slows digital shift to rival Tesla and BYD
Inside Toyota Motor Corp, a group of employees are worried about the company's future in an era when a car's software matters just as much as its sheet metal. The world's biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars like clockwork, but it's been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk's Tesla Inc, China's BYD Co and other frontrunners in the industry's shift toward electric vehicles with sophisticated software. A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-chief executive officer and now chairman Akio Toyoda, the little known group's mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernizing it from within. The division's rank-and-file members are drawn from a wide cross-section of the corporate flow chart – everyone from R&D technicians to blue collar mechanics on factory floors. They all share a broad vision to introduce a more digitised future to a company with a stubbornly analogue culture. While they've managed to foster some changes, Toyota's core competency remains very much in hardware – with one foot in the world of EVs and its other planted in gas-powered cars. That cautious approach has been key to the Japanese automaker's success so far. Yet it's also a source of frustration for some inside and outside the company who are pushing for quicker progress. "Toyota sees the importance of software, but it's still slow,' said Kani Munidasa, chief executive officer of Code Crysalis, a Tokyo-based startup that's working with Toyota to put workers through Silicon Valley-style coding boot camps. Lukewarm commitment Some advocates for a software-led rethink at Toyota have grown disillusioned by what they see as a lukewarm commitment to reform from within, according to people familiar with the matter. They point to a recent decision to fold the Digital Transformation Promotion Department into a larger business unit, threatening to short-circuit its mission as a change agent. The division, which previously reported directly to chief executive officer Koji Sato, was absorbed by the Digital Information and Communication Group "to accelerate the internal promotion of digital transformation,' Toyota said in a statement. "We aim to create new value and transform business by accelerating collaboration among the various infrastructures and the use of AI,' it said. In some ways a similar fate befell Toyota's effort to create a digitally-focused, quasi-independent subsidiary called Woven. Despite bold ambitions to usher in a "software-first' approach to car manufacturing, in the end Woven was quietly folded back into the corporate mothership in September 2023 after its American executive departed and its portfolio was downsized. While Toyota's software team isn't directly involved in the development of the cars it sells, they've undertaken a number of projects focused on the company itself. That includes creating a database to keep track of the company's fleet of test cars, overhauling a system employees use to apply for time off, replacing white boards with touchscreens on factory floors and deploying robots to deliver medicine inside Toyota's 527-bed company hospital in Aichi prefecture, according to people familiar with the matter. Another project involved extending access for remote workers to computer assisted design software using a virtual desktop infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia Corp. "Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies,' Masanobu Takahisa, a Digital Transformation project general manager, was quoted as saying in a 2021 press release about the campaign. Those efforts might not be transformative, but they're notable in a company where scissors are banned in the office out of an abundance of safety-minded precaution, and erasable billboards are still used to keep employees informed at factories. Looming 'digital cliff' Toyota isn't unique among Japanese companies. While the country dominates in some high-tech fields such as industrial robots, its business culture is known for clinging to fax machines and other bygone technologies. The government in Tokyo has warned about failing to surmount what it terms a "digital cliff' separating Japan from other advanced economies. In March 2021, sitting across from union members during the final round of annual wage negotiations, Toyoda, scion of the founding family and then CEO, said he wanted to break down internal information silos and put the automaker's digital innovation on par with top global companies within three years. "Inside Toyota, it's still the case that only people 'in the know' are considered valuable, and that knowledge only belongs to a small group,' he said. "By moving forward with our digital transformation, we can rid ourselves of that inequity and build an environment where its easier for everyone to focus on their work.' The Toyota City-based carmaker hatched the Digital Transformation division to heed that call with a team of innovative minds looking to break down antiquated systems and practices. The idea was that, if all went well, that reform agenda would rub off on other parts of the company, boosting resiliency and productivity. But the progress has been piecemeal and the division is far from achieving its longterm goals, the people familiar said. Former employees who spoke anonymously with Bloomberg described a workplace bound by conformity, with a paternalistic bureaucracy that values harmony over new ideas. One ex-employee joined Toyota because they were interested in autonomous driving, but instead felt trapped for several years doing quality control on mundane electronic parts. Toyota's global success – its record as the world's biggest automaker for five consecutive years and its status as Japan's biggest and most important company – has arguably created a self-enforcing inertia. Talk among employees of transferring or quitting usually triggered the same reaction: Why would anyone want to leave? It's not the only legacy carmaker struggling to adapt to modern technology. Volkswagen AG's Cariad software unit has been downsized following glitches and delays, while Ford Motor Co. recently downgraded its next-generation advanced software project known as FNV4 by merging it with an existing architecture platform. That speaks to a larger issue involving the industry's ability to innovate fast enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and China's Xiaomi Corp as well as Big Tech, which has moved aggressively into automotive dashboards with popular features such as Apple Inc's CarPlay and Alphabet Inc's Google Android operating system. Reinvention won't come easy for established automakers, said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America Corp. "It goes into structures, platforms, technology – sort of the whole integrated operating system of a vehicle, I think, needs to be done differently,' he said. "It's an uphill battle.' – Bloomberg
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Japan Times
Toyota's internal inertia stifles digital transformation effort
Inside Toyota, a group of employees are worried about the company's future in an era when a car's software matters just as much as its sheet metal. The world's biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars like clockwork, but it's been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk's Tesla, China's BYD and other front-runners in the industry's shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) with sophisticated software. A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-Chief Executive Officer and now Chairman Akio Toyoda, the little known group's mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernizing it from within. The division's rank-and-file members are drawn from a wide cross-section of the corporate flow chart — everyone from R&D technicians to blue collar mechanics on factory floors. They all share a broad vision to introduce a more digitized future to a company with a stubbornly analog culture. While they've managed to foster some changes, Toyota's core competency remains very much in hardware — with one foot in the world of EVs and its other planted in gas-powered cars. That cautious approach has been key to the Japanese automaker's success so far. Yet it's also a source of frustration for some inside and outside the company who are pushing for quicker progress. "Toyota sees the importance of software, but it's still slow,' said Kani Munidasa, chief executive officer of Code Crysalis, a Tokyo-based startup that's working with Toyota to put workers through Silicon Valley-style coding boot camps. Lukewarm commitment Some advocates for a software-led rethink at Toyota have grown disillusioned by what they see as a lukewarm commitment to reform from within, according to people familiar with the matter. They point to a recent decision to fold the Digital Transformation Promotion Department into a larger business unit, threatening to short-circuit its mission as a change agent. The division, which previously reported directly to Chief Executive Officer Koji Sato, was absorbed by the Digital Information and Communication Group "to accelerate the internal promotion of digital transformation,' Toyota said in a statement. "We aim to create new value and transform business by accelerating collaboration among the various infrastructures and the use of AI,' it said. In some ways a similar fate befell Toyota's effort to create a digitally focused, quasi-independent subsidiary called Woven. Despite bold ambitions to usher in a "software-first' approach to car manufacturing, in the end Woven was quietly folded back into the corporate mothership in September 2023 after its American executive departed and its portfolio was downsized. Toyota CEO Koji Sato | Bloomberg While Toyota's software team isn't directly involved in the development of the cars it sells, they've undertaken a number of projects focused on the company itself. That includes creating a database to keep track of the company's fleet of test cars, overhauling a system employees use to apply for time off, replacing white boards with touch screens on factory floors and deploying robots to deliver medicine inside Toyota's 527-bed company hospital in Aichi Prefecture, according to people familiar with the matter. Another project involved extending access for remote workers to computer assisted design software using a virtual desktop infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia. "Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies,' Masanobu Takahisa, a Digital Transformation project general manager, was quoted as saying in a 2021 press release about the campaign. Those efforts might not be transformative, but they're notable in a company where scissors are banned in the office out of an abundance of safety-minded precaution, and erasable billboards are still used to keep employees informed at factories. Looming 'digital cliff' Toyota isn't unique among Japanese companies. While the country dominates in some high-tech fields such as industrial robots, its business culture is known for clinging to fax machines and other bygone technologies. The government in Tokyo has warned about failing to surmount what it terms a "digital cliff' separating Japan from other advanced economies. In March 2021, sitting across from union members during the final round of annual wage negotiations, Toyoda, scion of the founding family and then CEO, said he wanted to break down internal information silos and put the automaker's digital innovation on par with top global companies within three years. "Inside Toyota, it's still the case that only people 'in the know' are considered valuable, and that knowledge only belongs to a small group,' he said. "By moving forward with our digital transformation, we can rid ourselves of that inequity and build an environment where it's easier for everyone to focus on their work.' The carmaker based in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, hatched the Digital Transformation division to heed that call with a team of innovative minds looking to break down antiquated systems and practices. The idea was that, if all went well, that reform agenda would rub off on other parts of the company, boosting resiliency and productivity. But the progress has been piecemeal and the division is far from achieving its long-term goals, the people familiar with the matter said. Former employees who spoke anonymously described a workplace bound by conformity, with a paternalistic bureaucracy that values harmony over new ideas. One ex-employee joined Toyota because they were interested in autonomous driving, but instead felt trapped for several years doing quality control on mundane electronic parts. Toyota's global success — its record as the world's biggest automaker for five consecutive years and its status as Japan's biggest and most important company — has arguably created a self-enforcing inertia. Talk among employees of transferring or quitting usually triggered the same reaction: Why would anyone want to leave? It's not the only legacy carmaker struggling to adapt to modern technology. Volkswagen's Cariad software unit has been downsized following glitches and delays, while Ford recently downgraded its next-generation advanced software project known as FNV4 by merging it with an existing architecture platform. That speaks to a larger issue involving the industry's ability to innovate fast enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and China's Xiaomi as well as Big Tech, which has moved aggressively into automotive dashboards with popular features such as Apple's CarPlay and Alphabet's Google Android operating system. Reinvention won't come easy for established automakers, said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America. "It goes into structures, platforms, technology — sort of the whole integrated operating system of a vehicle, I think, needs to be done differently,' he said. "It's an uphill battle.'
Business Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Times
Toyota's internal inertia stifles digital transformation effort
[TOKYO] Inside Toyota Motor, a group of employees are worried about the company's future in an era when a car's software matters just as much as its sheet metal. The world's biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars such as clockwork, but it's been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk's Tesla, China's BYD and other frontrunners in the industry's shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) with sophisticated software. A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-chief executive officer and now chairman Akio Toyoda, the little-known group's mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernising it from within. The division's rank-and-file members are drawn from a wide cross-section of the corporate flow chart, everyone from R&D technicians to blue collar mechanics on factory floors. They all share a broad vision to introduce a more digitised future to a company with a stubbornly analogue culture. While they have managed to foster some changes, Toyota's core competency remains very much in hardware, with one foot in the world of EVs and its other planted in petrol-powered cars. That cautious approach has been key to the Japanese automaker's success so far. Yet it's also a source of frustration for some inside and outside the company who are pushing for quicker progress. 'Toyota sees the importance of software, but it's still slow,' said Kani Munidasa, chief executive officer of Code Crysalis, a Tokyo-based startup that's working with Toyota to put workers through Silicon Valley-style coding boot camps. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Lukewarm commitment Some advocates for a software-led rethink at Toyota have grown disillusioned by what they see as a lukewarm commitment to reform from within, according to sources familiar with the matter. They point to a recent decision to fold the Digital Transformation Promotion Department into a larger business unit, threatening to short-circuit its mission as a change agent. The division, which previously reported directly to chief executive officer Koji Sato, was absorbed by the Digital Information and Communication Group 'to accelerate the internal promotion of digital transformation', Toyota said. 'We aim to create new value and transform business by accelerating collaboration among the various infrastructures and the use of artificial intelligence,' it said. In some ways, a similar fate befell Toyota's effort to create a digitally-focused, quasi-independent subsidiary called Woven. Despite bold ambitions to usher in a 'software-first' approach to car manufacturing, in the end, Woven was quietly folded back into the corporate mothership in September 2023 after its American executive departed and its portfolio was downsized. While Toyota's software team is not directly involved in the development of the cars it sells, they have undertaken a number of projects focused on the company itself. That includes creating a database to keep track of the company's fleet of test cars, overhauling a system employees use to apply for time off, replacing whiteboards with touch screens on factory floors and deploying robots to deliver medicine inside Toyota's 527-bed company hospital in Aichi prefecture, according to sources familiar with the matter. Another project involved extending access for remote workers to computer assisted design software using a virtual desktop infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia Corp. 'Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies,' Masanobu Takahisa, a Digital Transformation project general manager, was quoted as saying in a 2021 press release about the campaign. Those efforts might not be transformative, but they are notable in a company where scissors are banned in the office out of an abundance of safety-minded precaution, and erasable billboards are still used to keep employees informed at factories. Looming 'digital cliff' Toyota is not unique among Japanese companies. While the country dominates in some high-tech fields such as industrial robots, its business culture is known for clinging to fax machines and other bygone technologies. The government in Tokyo has warned about failing to surmount what it terms a 'digital cliff' separating Japan from other advanced economies. In March 2021, sitting across from union members during the final round of annual wage negotiations, Toyoda, scion of the founding family and then CEO, said he wanted to break down internal information silos and put the automaker's digital innovation on par with top global companies within three years. 'Inside Toyota, it's still the case that only people 'in the know' are considered valuable, and that knowledge only belongs to a small group,' he said. 'By moving forward with our digital transformation, we can rid ourselves of that inequity and build an environment where its easier for everyone to focus on their work.' The Toyota City-based carmaker hatched the Digital Transformation division to heed that call with a team of innovative minds looking to break down antiquated systems and practices. The idea was that, if all went well, that reform agenda would rub off on other parts of the company, boosting resiliency and productivity. But the progress has been piecemeal and the division is far from achieving its long-term goals, the sources familiar said. Former employees who spoke anonymously with Bloomberg described a workplace bound by conformity, with a paternalistic bureaucracy that values harmony over new ideas. One ex-employee joined Toyota because they were interested in autonomous driving, but instead felt trapped for several years doing quality control on mundane electronic parts. Toyota's global success, its record as the world's biggest automaker for five consecutive years and its status as Japan's biggest and most important company, has arguably created a self-enforcing inertia. Talk among employees of transferring or quitting usually triggered the same reaction: Why would anyone want to leave? It's not the only legacy carmaker struggling to adapt to modern technology. Volkswagen's Cariad software unit has been downsized following glitches and delays, while Ford Motor recently downgraded its next-generation advanced software project known as FNV4 by merging it with an existing architecture platform. That speaks to a larger issue involving the industry's ability to innovate fast enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and China's Xiaomi as well as Big Tech, which has moved aggressively into automotive dashboards with popular features such as Apple's CarPlay and Alphabet's Google Android operating system. Reinvention will not come easy for established automakers, said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America. 'It goes into structures, platforms, technology, sort of the whole integrated operating system of a vehicle, I think, needs to be done differently,' he said. 'It's an uphill battle.' BLOOMBERG
