Inside Toyota, a group of employees are worried about the company’s future in an era when a car’s software matters just as much as its sheet metal.
The world’s biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars like clockwork, but it’s been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk’s Tesla, China’s BYD and other front-runners in the industry’s shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) with sophisticated software.
A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-CEO and now Chairman Akio Toyoda, the little-known group’s mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernizing it from within.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.