Toyota to restructure R&D organisation, plans to introduce new safety and lighting technologies in 2015

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and subsidiary Toyota Technical Development Corporation (TTDC) have agreed to reorganise the latter on 1 January 2015, reports a company press release. TTDC's vehicle research and development (R&D) business, which covers vehicle engineering, testing, and prototype-building, along with approximately 5,000 TTDC employees, will be merged into TMC. The reorganisation process will take place through a simplified absorption-type company split under which TTDC, the splitting company, will transfer its vehicle development business to TMC, the successor company. Following this merger, the headquarters of TTDC will remain at their current location, in Hanamoto-cho, Toyota, Aichi Prefecture (Japan). The business portfolio held by TTDC following the restructure will centre on the development of measuring instruments, the calibration of measuring instruments, and data analysis. The number of employees working for the subsidiary will be approximately 1,000, reduced from nearly 6,000.

Separately, Toyota plans to launch a newly developed set of active safety technologies designed to help mitigate collisions at a wide range of vehicle speeds from 2015, according to a company press release. These technologies will be offered in the form of two "Toyota Safety Sense" packages, to be launched next year and rolled out across most passenger models in Japan, North America, and Europe. The two safety packages will be offered depending on vehicle type: there will be a "C" package for compact cars and a "P" package for mid-sized and high-end cars. Toyota Safety Sense C integrates several of Toyota's existing active safety technologies: the Pre-Collision System (PCS) helps prevent and mitigate collisions; Lane Departure Alert (LDA) helps prevent vehicles from departing from their lanes; and Automatic High Beam (AHB) helps ensure optimal forward visibility during night-time driving. Toyota Safety Sense P combines a camera and millimetre-wave radar for reliable performance and safety.

Moreover, Toyota has announced that it will offer a newly developed adaptive high beam technology that enables more precise control of light distribution through independent LED control in new models, starting from 2015. The new LED Array Adaptive High Beam System (LED Array AHS) uses multiple independently controlled LEDs arranged in a single row, giving a wider range of illumination than earlier systems without dazzling the drivers of preceding and oncoming vehicles.

In addition to the new safety features, the Japanese automaker will incorporate an advanced vehicle infrastructure co-operative system that uses a wireless frequency reserved for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in some of its upcoming models in 2015. The system will use the dedicated ITS frequency of 760 MHz for road-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-vehicle communication to gather information that cannot be obtained by onboard sensors. In addition, this system will help in providing information at intersections with poor visibility, about oncoming vehicles and pedestrians detected by sensors above the road that will be conveyed via road-to-vehicle communication, and information about approaching vehicles will be conveyed via vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The system will be offered as an option for the "Toyota Safety Sense P" active safety package that will be made available in 2015 on select new models sold in Japan. Furthermore, the automaker's newly developed communicating radar cruise control feature allows preceding and following vehicles to maintain safe distances between one another on highways.

Outlook and implications

TTDC, a subsidiary and technology partner of Toyota, has played a key role in vehicle development since its establishment in 2006. In the past, TMC and TTDC have had independently defined development responsibilities, with TMC responsible mainly for discovering new R&D advancements, such as cutting-edge and foundation-making technologies, and TTDC mainly being in charge of furthering development of existing technologies. The merger of the business portfolios is aimed at achieving optimal R&D management and enabling Toyota to streamline a comprehensive vehicle development for the enhancement of Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) to ensure its sustainable growth (see Japan: 29 March 2013: Toyota announces details of new global production framework). The reorganisation will also enable TTDC to focus solely on development support and expand its services to prop up other members of the Toyota Group.

The Japanese automaker has been a front-runner in the incorporation of occupant and pedestrian safety technologies in its vehicles, having first introduced collision-avoidance technologies in some of its models in 2003 (see Japan: 13 October 2014: Toyota plans to offer collision avoidance technology in most models). Toyota has developed ITS-compatible interfaces in collaboration with government ministries and agencies and private companies, with the aim of launching them as soon as practically possible, thus reflecting its R&D focus on safety devices and systems (see United States: 4 September 2014: Toyota announces expansion of safety systems across US line-up, USD35-mil. investment in safety consortium). The Japanese OEM is now following the strategies of its European counterparts such as Germany's Volkswagen and Sweden's Volvo by offering the technology in an increasing number of mass-market models. Vehicle safety is becoming a key selling point and an effective way for automakers to differentiate their vehicles, especially as consumers are becoming more conscious of safety aspects.