LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor
Corporation President Akio Toyoda
today announced a new mobility service business alliance and
e-Palette Concept Vehicle designed to meet the demands of future
multi-mode transportation and business applications.
"The automobile industry is clearly amidst its most dramatic
period of change as technologies like electrification, connected
and automated driving are making significant progress. Toyota
remains committed to making ever better cars. Just as important, we
are developing mobility solutions to help everyone enjoy their
lives, and we are doing our part to create an ever-better society
for the next 100 years and beyond. This announcement marks a major
step forward in our evolution towards sustainable mobility,
demonstrating our continued expansion beyond traditional cars and
trucks to the creation of new values including services for
customers," said Akio Toyoda.
Unveiled at CES®, the new e-Palette Alliance will leverage
Toyota's proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) to develop a
suite of connected mobility solutions and a flexible, purpose-built
vehicle. The new alliance will create a broad-based ecosystem of
hardware and software support designed to help a range of companies
utilize advanced mobility technology to better serve
customers. Launch partners include Amazon, DiDi, Mazda, Pizza
Hut and Uber, who will collaborate on vehicle planning, application
concepts and vehicle verification activities
In the near term, the Alliance will focus on the development of
the new e-Palette Concept Vehicle, also unveiled at CES. The
concept reflects one of Toyota's visions for Automated Mobility as
a Service (Autono-MaaS) applications. It is a fully-automated, next
generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) designed to be scalable
and customizable for a range of Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
businesses. What's more, the e-Palette Concept demonstrates
Toyota's continued commitment to partnership and flexibility.
In addition to supporting the services provided through Toyota's
MSPF, the e-Palette Concept Vehicle's open vehicle control
interface and a set of software tools to allow partner companies to
install their own automated driving system and vehicle management
technology. When a partner company's automated driving system is
installed, Toyota's Guardian technology will act as a safety net to
help ensure appropriate operation.
Together, the e-Palette Alliance and e-Palette Concept Vehicle
reflect Toyota's continued global momentum in developing and
delivering new connected mobility businesses and data services
through Toyota Connected, the company's data analysis and services
subsidiary.
The e-Palette Alliance: A New Ecosystem for
Mobility-Powered Business
As an emerging provider of mobility hardware and services to
business, Toyota is focused on creating new and attractive features
for partners that help them to expand their value chain and improve
customers' lives.
The e-Palette Alliance will leverage the power of Toyota's MSPF
to build a new ecosystem for mobility-powered businesses. Announced
in 2016, the MSPF is Toyota's framework for a range of connected
vehicle applications, providing a full suite of services needed to
support MaaS ranging from vehicle leasing and insurance to fleet
management and big data.
e-Palette Alliance service provider partners, including Amazon,
DiDi, Pizza Hut, and Uber will explore various applications of the
e-Palette Concept and the MSPF to support their existing business
needs. DiDi, Mazda and Uber will also join as technology
partners.
Toyota continues to discuss the creation of new mobility
services with other service providers and technology development
companies.
e-Palette Concept Vehicle: An Automated, Electric Vehicle
Purpose-Built for MaaS
With the e-Palette Concept, Toyota has built a new approach to
Autono-MaaS mobility that will empower Alliance partners to support
their customers' lifestyles with increased convenience,
productivity and efficiency.
With its open interior design layout, the vehicle can be
outfitted with purpose-built interiors in accordance with the
user's needs, whether it be parcel delivery, ride sharing, or
on-the-road e-commerce. Its flexible framework is also designed for
usage optimization, allowing the e-Pallet Concept to be shared to
support various business needs and transition seamlessly from one
application to another. Toyota envisions that the e-Palette Concept
will be made available in three sizes, allowing not just
need-specific applications, but also right-sized and right-place
mobile solutions.
Going forward, e-Palette Alliance partners will be able to
leverage the e-Palette Concept in coordination with the full range
of MSPF services, or to incorporate the vehicle into their own
technology development program. The e-Palette Concept's design
reflects this commitment to flexibility and partnership, with an
open control interface and a set of software tools to allow partner
companies to mount their own automated driving system as
desired.
Toyota plans to conduct feasibility testing of the e-Palette
Concept in various regions, including the
United States, in the early 2020s. It also hopes to
contribute to the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo
2020 by providing mobility solutions like the e-Palette and other
innovative mobility offerings.
Main Features
- Extensive interior space with a low floor/cube shape
design
There are three sizes of e-Palette Concept, with different
lengths* (depending on the purpose-built specification). Thanks to
a flat and extensive barrier free interior space layout designed
with a low floor, equipment can be installed in accordance with the
user's needs, such as ride sharing specifications, hotel room
specifications and retail shopping specifications.
*Lengths vary from 4m to 7m approximately. Dimension of CES 2018 Design
model is L 4,800mm, W 2,000mm, H 2,250mm.
- Next-Generation vehicle control interface:
Vehicle control technology is being used as an interface for
technology providers. Technology providers can receive open
Application Programming Interface (API) such as vehicle state and
vehicle control, necessary for development of automated driving
systems (automated driving control software and cameras/sensors,
etc.). The e-Palette Concept also leverages the power of the
MSPF to enable over-the-air updates of the automated driving
systems.
Vehicle information is gathered from the Data Communication
Module (DCM) fitted to the e-Palette Concept and accumulated in the
Toyota Big Data Center (TBDC) through a global communication
platform. The e-Palette Concept will capitalize on this vehicle
information to support a variety of finance options, as well as
high-level maintenance in cooperation with Toyota dealers. The API
required by service providers, like vehicle state and dynamic
management, can be viewed on the MSPF.
Media
Contacts:
TMNA Corporate
Communications
Ming-Jou
Chen
469-292-3799
ming-jou.chen@toyota.com
Russ
Koble
469-292-4530
russ.koble@toyota.com
Brian
Lyons
469-292-3573
brian.lyons@toyota.com
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in
the U.S. and North America for 60
years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation
mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time,
Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have
contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of
more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.7
million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 – and
about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years
are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive
know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to
assist more people move more places. For more information
about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America