Toyota Launches Experimental City in Japan

Susono, Shizuoka Pref., Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. opened the first part of its Woven City in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on Thursday, five years after the automaker announced the experimental city’s concept. Toyota and 18 other companies are involved in the project, which will test automated logistics services and vehicle driving within a human settlement. The public will be able to visit the Woven City starting as early as fiscal 2026. The phase 1 portion of the project covering about 47,000 square meters opened on Thursday. The site houses 14 structures, including eight residential facilities, which will accommodate 300 people, mainly Toyota employees. The biggest feature of the Woven City project is autonomous driving. Trial runs will be held for new car-sharing services involving robots guiding vehicles to locations picked out by users on their smartphones and for unmanned delivery technologies using robots. The 19 companies include Daikin Industries Ltd., Nissin Food Products Co. and five other firms from outside the automobile industry. They aim to create new products and services through their tie-up with Toyota. “It is a test course for the future rather than a town. We’ll create a ‘multiplication’ that can’t be created by one company alone,” Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said. An automaker creating a community with an objective of state-of-the-art technology research is a globally unique project. “We hope that (the project will lead to) the development of a technology that brings benefits beyond the Woven City and improves the lives of people,” an official at the Susono city government said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]