Motor industry changing radically: Toyota

The motor industry and personal mobility are changing radically, and Toyota says it’s adapting its overall business to keep pace.

“Vehicles have until recently always been powered by an internal combustion engine, either petrol or diesel,” Toyota New Zealand chief executive officer Alistair Davis says.

“Outside factors – climate change and regulations requiring less or no emissions are starting to have a big impact on the future of our industry.”

Davis says advancing technology is making levels of autonomous mobility a reality, with the added benefit of improved road safety and more efficient motoring.

Changing habits in large cities are seeing fewer young people owning vehicles and more dependence on Mobility as a Service (MaaS) options, he says

“Traditionally vehicles have been sold through dealerships where they are also serviced. But the internet’s impact is transforming the retail landscape and the motor industry is no exception.”

Davis expects some of these changes will not come to fruition until the middle of the century, when the majority of new vehicles sold will be electrified in some way. He says many conventional vehicles sold now will still be around for the next 20-25 years.

But changes in the motor industry are already gathering momentum.

Toyota and Lexus’ self-charging electric hybrid vehicles, which started with the Prius, have been around for 20 years and now include Camry, Corolla and the majority of the Lexus model range. Globally, Toyota is committed to making available an electric or electric hybrid version in every vehicle range by around 2025.

Much of the autonomous technology like active radar cruise control, lane departure warning and autonomous braking are already in many Toyota and Lexus vehicles, Davis says.

Oil will eventually become less valuable as the demand for it reduces. “But then there is the potential problem of how to produce electricity cleanly. Hydro, wind and solar production are all expected to grow – an area where New Zealand is well served, but much of the rest of the world is not.”

Toyota and some other companies are exploring producing electricity from hydrogen, but it requires more capital-intensive infrastructure than the cost of charging points for plug in hybrid electric or full electric vehicles.

“Commuting time will potentially become more productive with the first full autonomous vehicles moving from the test phase to the consumer market in Japan and North America in the next few years,” Davis says.

“In New Zealand we have invested through Toyota Financial Services in a Wellington-based car sharing software company Mindkin, with trials already underway in Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North.”

Toyota says it’s still committed to a strong dealer network and their critical role in delivering hospitality and customer service.

The ‘Drive Happy Project’ which Toyota New Zealand launches in April, introduces some significant changes to how customers interact with the brand.