Toyota considers acquiring technology companies to ensure autonomous driving

Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said on Wednesday that the company may consider acquiring new technologies in the automotive industry, including autonomous driving, through mergers or acquisitions, and that the company will face more intense competition from rivals in the future, according to Autonews, a car news website.

At Toyota's annual shareholders' meeting held on Wednesday, Akio Toyoda said that over the past period of time, he has been committed to maintaining the company's status quo. Toyota has taken longer than its competitors to accept new technologies such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles. In future competition, Toyota will take a more proactive stance.

"The auto industry is going through huge changes, new issues and new concepts, and we believe these new phenomena will greatly affect our future. That's why we need to take a more proactive stance while maintaining our traditional strengths," Toyoda said.

Toyoda emphasized: "We invest about 1 trillion yen (about 9.1 billion U.S. dollars) every year in research and development, capital expenditure and stock repurchase. But this is not enough. To survive in the future, we need to consider all options, including mergers and acquisitions."

With the rise of autonomous driving technology, the boundaries between automakers and technology companies are becoming increasingly blurred. In addition to producing cars, global automakers are looking to expand their roles and become suppliers of transportation operation services. Automakers are constantly increasing their R&D budgets and making huge investments in technology companies.

Toyota is no exception. Toyota has invested $1 billion in an artificial intelligence research institute and has reached technical cooperation agreements with technology companies Microsoft and Uber. In addition to its own suppliers, Toyota has also contacted more companies, such as technology company Nvidia, to obtain corresponding software for its autonomous driving system.

Toyota plans to release a car that can drive itself on highways by 2020. However, rival Nissan aims to launch a car that can drive itself on city roads by 2020, and General Motors said it has already started mass-producing self-driving test cars.

Toyota has yet to strike a major capital partnership with another company, while GM has bought U.S. self-driving technology company Cruise and has formed a partnership with ride-hailing company Lyft, and Ford has acquired ride-hailing company Chariot.

Last year, Toyota finally established its own electric vehicle division, but it has fallen behind its competitors. Nissan, General Motors, Volkswagen and other automakers have begun to launch new electric vehicle products, while Toyota is still obsessed with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles...

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.