Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is to absorb the research and development functions of wholly-owned subsidiary, Toyota InfoTechnology Center (ITC Japan) into its in-house connected company by March 2019.
It also plans to absorb the research and development functions of Toyota InfoTechnology Center, USA (ITC USA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Japan, into Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).
As the development of automated driving technologies and the roll-out of businesses related to mobility services continues to gain momentum, this decision fits with TMC’s drive to speed up the development and application of ever-better services based on connected technologies to meet the needs of customers more closely.
TMC established ITC Japan and ITC USA in partnership with other related companies in 2001 with the objective of constructing a new value chain. The new businesses were tasked with identifying innovative IT technology trends and market needs in the network business field. Both companies specialize in applied research related to communication and information processing, such as large-scale data processing and high-speed network technologies, which are an essential part of Toyota’s efforts to enhance services, primarily for connected vehicles.
By absorbing the functions of these companies, TMC aims to create a unified organization that integrates applied research with service and product application, roles that are currently divided between ITC Japan, ITC USA and TMC.
As a result, TMC intends to further build an efficient and flexible system that speeds up the development process and facilitates the rapid provision of ever-better mobility services in line with customer needs.
