On November 4, Toyota Motor North America announced the immediate plan to develop a Manufacturing Project Innovation Center (MPIC) at its Plano, Texas headquarters.
The automaker attributes the initiative to “part of its commitment to mobility and helping people find better ways to go places.” According to a company press release, MPIC will focus on “strategic manufacturing initiatives related to mobility transformation; CASE (connected, autonomous, shared, electric) technologies; benchmarking, and advanced processing initiatives that incorporate new technology at the company’s 15 North American manufacturing facilities.”
More than likely, Toyota is under pressure from stakeholders to find ways of supporting a culture of innovation while also cutting costs. The automaker recently announced solid Q2 profits in a generally unfriendly landscape, but stressed that it is proactively investing in its future and “creating friends.” According to the Associated Press, Toyota has more recently been seeking out relationships outside of traditional automotive partners, including robotics and internet companies.
A “mobility” approach appears to be focused on some of the newer, non-traditional models of transportation that analysts expect to take a big bite of the traditional gasoline-powered family car. These include electric powertrains and even ride-sharing.
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