Tag: Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and KINTO Co., Ltd. (KINTO) announced today that, amid rapidly advancing technological innovation surrounding cars and based on a mutual desire to swiftly deliver the evolution of cars to customers, they have taken on the challenge of providing “cars that evolve in tune with people”. The two companies kicked off this effort by offering from today, through KINTO(1), the new GR Yaris “Morizo Selection”, a product that can be updated with the latest software tailored to each customer.

In recent years, Toyota has drastically accelerated its automobile development in collaboration with ROOKIE Racing(2). Toyota President Akio Toyoda, in his Morizo persona, has even raced behind the wheel of the GR Yaris on the ROOKIE Racing team in the Super Taikyu Series–a top-tier endurance race series in Japan. Racing in this series has made possible constant vehicle updates via analysis and countermeasures based on driving data and driver feedback. Furthermore, such updates have been personalized to give drivers greater control over vehicle evolution.

In aiming to provide customers with the type of updates and personalization that ROOKIE Racing is putting into practice in its racing, Toyota and KINTO concluded that the best way to do so would be through the KINTO car subscription service. KINTO, in line with a shift in customer needs from car ownership to car usage, started in 2019, stemming from Akio Toyoda’s desire to offer “a new form of vehicle ownership that invites customers to enjoy their relationship with the car of their choice in a fun and easy manner”. A key trait of the KINTO service is its ability to continue providing added value even after a subscription contract has been signed. As such, Toyota and KINTO realized that the service would be the perfect platform for providing evolution to cars already in customer use.

By pairing racing-based updates & personalization with the KINTO service to introduce the latest software to customers’ cars even after such cars have been delivered, Toyota and KINTO intend to take on the challenge of evolving cars in a way that is in tune with customers.

Toyota and KINTO plan to evolve customers’ cars via the means described below.

Timely updates (from spring 2022)
Introduction of the latest software in line with technological innovations and the optimization of basic vehicle performance in terms of driving, turning, and stopping
Vehicle provision via GR Garage shops at various vehicle sales outlets (with some exceptions)

Announcement of detailed service offerings in spring 2022
Inclusion of cost in the monthly KINTO fee (with some services requiring additional fees)
Tailored personalization (under consideration) Software customization to suit each individual based on customer driving data to achieve “cars that evolve in tune with people” in the future
By evolving each car in a way that suits each customer, Toyota and KINTO aim to provide services that allow customers to enjoy their cars even more. The two companies plan to accelerate their efforts, such as by expanding the KINTO-service lineup of “cars that evolve in tune with people” to provide enjoyment of cars to as many people as possible.

(1) KINTO operates “Mobility Market”, which is a website that offers a diverse range of mobility services, including the KINTO ONE car subscription service, which conveniently combines various car-related expenses such as automobile insurance and automobile taxes in a single, fixed-sum monthly fee.
URL: https://kinto-jp.com/ (in Japanese only)
(2) ROOKIE Racing is a privateer team with a wide variety of drivers (including master drivers, racecar drivers, rallyists, evaluation drivers, and gentlemen drivers) that focuses on cultivating human resources and making ever-better cars using “skill” and “spirit” from various perspectives. It has a work consignment relationship with Toyota in which Toyota receives feedback from ROOKIE Racing and reflects it in vehicle development.

For more information, visit https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/35370952.html.

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has claimed an amazing one-two finish on Rally Italia Sardegna, with Sebastien Ogier scoring his third victory from five events so far this season and Elfyn Evans taking second to complete a remarkable result that extends the team’s advantage in the championship.

The team’s maiden Sardinia win came after a fast and reliable performance from the Toyota Yaris WRC and its drivers, who were able to overcome their disadvantageous positions at the head of the road order on Friday. Ogier was particularly impressive opening the road on Friday, ending the day in third before climbing into the rally lead on Saturday, when Evans also improved his confidence and speed to rise to second.

Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia safely managed their advantage through the final day’s four stages to clinch their fourth Sardinia victory and first since 2015.

Evans, co-driven by Scott Martin, started the final day with a strong stage win in SS17 to increase his advantage over third place, and was also fastest in SS19. In the final stage he was slowed after water entered the car in a watersplash, but the buffer he had built earlier meant his second place was secured.

With two bonus points for the fourth fastest time in the Power Stage, Ogier now leads the championship by 11 points over Evans, who is in turn 18 points ahead of the driver in third.

Taking three bonus points for the third-best time in the Power Stage was Kalle Rovanpera, who together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen had been forced to stop by a technical issue on Friday while running in second position. With the help of their additional points, Toyota now has a 49-point lead in the manufuacturers’ standings.

Three Toyota Yaris WRC crews finished inside the top four, with TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta repeating the personal-best finish of fourth he recorded on the previous round in Portugal to continue his recent progress. On the final day Katsuta took a steady approach to secure the result while his co-driver Dan Barritt was feeling unwell as a result of dehydration due to the heat in Sardinia. Barritt was checked and released by doctors after the finish.

Quotes:

Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“I’m so proud that the team could finally win in Sardinia for the first time. Finally we could enjoy the tradition of jumping into the sea at the podium, and the one-two finish should make even the salty sea water taste nice. Congratulations!”

“I was there in Sardinia for the rally two years ago. Preparing a towel and a change of clothes, I was already thinking about how to dive in safely. However, the Yaris WRC, which was leading the rally, suddenly slowed down on the final stage. Even now I still feel sorry for Ott who was driving the car back then.”

“Thanks to Seb, Julien, Elfyn and Scott, who drove really well on the very demanding roads in Sardinia, we were able to find out how delicious the sea water is. My appreciation also goes to the team members who have been working to enhance the reliability of the cars. But there is still a lot for us to do, and I’m really sorry for what happened to Kalle and Jonne. I am sure that Jari-Matti, together with all of the team members, will continue making our cars stronger already from tomorrow.”

“Lastly, I would like to thank our fans for their passionate support. The next event is Kenya, which will be a totally new discovery for our team. I appreciate your continued support for us.”

“P.S. To Dan,
We can fix a car over and over, but Takamoto cannot compete without you. I think Takamoto put your health condition first and drove steady at the end. Together you made a very good decision. Please remember that health is always the most important!”

Quotes:

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“This is a fantastic result for our team. We came here to Sardinia knowing that it would not be an easy rally for us, that we would not necessarily be able to win, but in the end we are celebrating a one-two. It was not a perfect weekend because of the problem that Kalle unfortunately had on the first day and we need to learn from this to be stronger in the future, but otherwise the three other cars were working really well on these tough stages. Overall we had performance, we had reliability and we had consistency. It’s very good news for the championship, but we know the competition is getting tougher all the time so we need to keep working if we want to have more results like this.”

Sebastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
“This has been an incredible weekend for us: We could not have expected to come away from Sardinia a result like this. To have one-two for the team, starting first and second on the road, is a fantastic achievement. I’m also very happy that we managed to find a better feeling with the car and react after Portugal, where maybe the speed was not as great as we wanted. Unfortunately in the Power Stage we had a misfire briefly after a watersplash which was very aggressive, but we still took two bonus points which is good for the championship. If we can keep this rhythm up we can be confident, but of course it’s never that easy.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Second place is a great result that we definitely would have taken after our struggles on Friday morning. This morning we didn’t have such a huge gap behind us so it was good to be able to extend that advantage further, and it’s probably just as well given what happened later on in the final stage. We seemed to take in some water and I wasn’t sure it was going to clear, but thankfully it did and it quickly went back to full power after that. It’s a slight disappointment not to take any extra points from the Power Stage because of that, but at the same time I’m relieved to hang on to second place.”

Kalle Rovanpera (Driver car 69)
“Our aim today was to get as many points as we could from the Power Stage. Our starting position still made it a bit tricky, as there was some cleaning to do with only two World Rally Cars in front of us. So I had to make my own lines in many places and lost a bit of time with that, but I tried to push a lot and we came away with the third fastest time. Overall it was a really disappointing weekend from our side, but we just have to move forward. The positive thing is that the feeling in the car is good again after Portugal, and hopefully we can continue like this.”

For the latest results please visit www.wrc.com.

What’s next?

The iconic Safari Rally Kenya returns to the WRC calendar for the first time in almost 20 years on June 24-27. With a reputation for gruelling conditions, the African gravel event promises to provide an all-new challenge for the current crop of drivers.

Fukushima Prefecture and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced today that they have commenced discussions with various partners over building a city for a new future that makes use of hydrogen and technologies produced in Fukushima Prefecture.

In order to further promote reconstruction, Fukushima Prefecture is focusing on hydrogen, a new form of energy, and has undertaken to build one of the first models for a future hydrogen society.

Isuzu, Hino, and Toyota all seek to realize carbon neutrality, and wish to contribute to the building of a new city of the future in Fukushima via their three-company partnership; consequently, Fukushima Prefecture, Toyota, and their partners will create an implementation model for hydrogen-based deliveries at supermarkets and convenience stores, which play a role both as essential urban infrastructure and as evacuation areas in times of disaster. They will first build an implementation model for a city with a population of 300,000 people, before embarking on a challenge to apply the model to similar-sized cities nationwide.

The implementation model will make use of hydrogen produced at multiple sites in the prefecture, including Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R), introduce several fuel cell (FC) trucks for deliveries, optimize operational management and hydrogen refilling schedules through the use of connected technologies, and carry out energy management that caters to the prevailing local conditions.

In addition, in response to the needs and issues experienced by Namie Town–where FH2R is located–and other regions in the prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Toyota, and their partners will operate FC kitchen cars and medical cars, and use hydrogen at stores and plants in Fukushima Prefecture to reduce supply chain carbon emissions.

Following the announcement of Japan’s 2050 Carbon Neutral Goal, there is a growing need for concrete initiatives aimed at building sustainable societies that can be passed on to future generations. Fukushima Prefecture, Toyota, and their partners share this conviction; to this end, they intend to steadily promote the realization of one of the world’s first hydrogen societies, and of carbon neutrality, by expanding their spheres of cooperation, and taking advantage of the diverse regional characteristics of Fukushima Prefecture.

Participating partners, as of June 4, 2021 (in alphabetical order)
– Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.
– AEON CO., LTD.
– Isuzu Motors Limited
– SATONENRYO CO., LTD.
– Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd.
– DENSO FUKUSHIMA CORPORATION
– NEMOTO Corporation
– Hino Motors, Ltd.
– FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
– MARUTO CO., LTD.
– YORK-BENIMARU CO., Ltd.
– Lawson, Inc.
– Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST

Partner organization
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization