TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.,
July 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota
Motor North America (TMNA) and the Toyota Research Institute (TRI)
announced today their intent to support the American Center for
Mobility (ACM) as a Founder-level sponsor with a $5 million contribution.
As an ACM contributor, Toyota will be a member of a
government-industry team which supports ACM initiatives to create a
large-scale test environment in Southeast
Michigan where various companies can test their Connected
and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technologies. Toyota believes the
creation of this unique test environment will help support the
development acceleration of innovative CAV technologies, because it
allows technologies testing under a safe and controlled
environment.
Toyota believes this initiative will foster further innovation
through collaboration with government and academic partners.
Toyota hopes that ACM serves as a catalyst for safer and more
efficient transportation solutions with vehicles equipped with
advanced CAV technologies.
"We are excited to be the first automaker joining this effort to
create a test ground for advanced vehicle technologies in our
backyard," said Jeff Makarewicz,
Group Vice President Safety and Vehicle Performance at TMNA
Research & Development Center in Ann
Arbor, Mich. "Together with industry and government
partners, we would like to set a direction to realize connected and
automated vehicles to help improve safety and mobility."
"As we move forward with the development of autonomous cars, we
must remember that not all test miles are created equal," said
Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research
Institute. "The road to creating a car as safe, or safer, than a
human driver will require billions of test miles including
simulation, real-world driving on public roads, and closed-course
testing where we can expose our systems to extreme circumstances
and conditions. The new ACM closed-course facility is a
significant step forward in this journey and will accelerate our
ability to help prevent crashes and save lives."
"I'm excited about our collaboration with Toyota," said
John Maddox, President and CEO of
the American Center for Mobility at Willow Run. "Today's
announcement is another example of Toyota's forward-looking vision
and ability to move quickly on developing this potentially
beneficial connected and automated technology."
"Toyota's long history of research and development in
Michigan is impressive, as is
their continuing commitment to this state and its people," said
Governor Rick Snyder. "Thanks to
Toyota's collaboration with ACM, Michigan can continue to maintain its momentum
as a global leader in the ever-expanding transition from being the
automotive capital to being the mobility capital."
"Toyota deserves our thanks and praise for this significant
investment in the American Center for Mobility," said Congresswoman
Debbie Dingell of Michigan.
"This is not only an investment in ACM, but is another strong sign
that Michigan continues to lead
the way in the future of mobility and innovation. Toyota has long
been a responsible corporate partner in Michigan and this is yet another example of
their commitment to our state and our workers."
About Toyota Motor North America
Toyota Motor North
America, Inc. (TMNA), headquartered in Plano, Texas, brings together Toyota's
marketing, sales, engineering and manufacturing arms in
North America. It is wholly owned
by Toyota Motor Corporation. 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.
About Toyota Research Institute
Toyota Research
Institute is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor North
America under the direction of Dr. Gill
Pratt. The company, established in 2015, aims to strengthen
Toyota's research structure and has four initial mandates: 1)
enhance the safety of automobiles, 2) increase access to cars to
those who otherwise cannot drive, 3) translate Toyota's expertise
in creating products for outdoor mobility into products for indoor
mobility, and 4) accelerate scientific discovery by applying
techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning. TRI
is based in the United States,
with offices in Los Altos, Calif.,
Cambridge, Mass., and Ann Arbor, Mich. For more information about
TRI, please visit www.tri.global.
About The American Center for Mobility
The American Center for Mobility is a non-profit testing, education
and product development facility for future mobility, designed to
enable safe validation and self-certification of connected and
automated vehicle technology, and to accelerate the development of
voluntary standards. ACM is part of the Planet M
collaborative that represents Michigan's unique infrastructure and leading
role in transforming how people and goods are transported. Planet M
members include public-private partnerships and collaborative
programs with the common goal of positively contributing to the
reinvention of the transportation industry. To learn more about
ACM, please visit www.acmwillowrun.org.
Media Contacts:
Brian R. Lyons
Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications
Toyota Motor North America
brian.lyons@Toyota.com
(469) 292-3573
John Hanson
Director, Communications & Public Affairs
Toyota Research Institute
john.hanson@tri.global
(657) 331-1291
American Center for Mobility Media Contact:
Jenni Omness
(248) 203-8142
JOmness@webershandwick.com
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America