Larry Hutchinson,Toyota Canada addresses key Canadian automotive industry influencers

0
120
Larry Hutchinson – TCI

TORONTO, Ontario, February 13, 2019 ā€“Ā Speaking to a room full of key Canadian automotive industry influencers, Larry Hutchinson, President & CEO at Toyota Canada Inc., claimed that, in its race toward fully autonomous vehicles, the industry may have forgotten one very important truth: People still like to drive.

Ā ā€œI believe our industry is at a crucial fork in the road,ā€ Hutchinson said.Ā  ā€œWeā€™re on the cusp of an important evolution in transportation.ā€

Even as vehicles are becoming increasingly electrified and automated, most consumers still enjoy driving.Ā  To Toyota, the two are not mutually exclusive.Ā  The company believes drivers want to be engaged – and that they want a vehicle that reflects their lifestyle and personality.Ā  If the auto industry ignores this, Hutchinson warns, they do so at their peril.

Toyota Canada

Ā ā€œWhy have so many automakers lost their passion for driving,ā€ he asked.Ā  ā€œThey seem to be so focused on the ā€˜next big thingā€™ – on the self-driving electricĀ podĀ ā€“ theyā€™re forgetting that driving is fun.ā€

He noted that, when you look at the concept vehicles of the future, youā€™ll often see a bland, autonomous pod that replaces the steering wheel with a computer screen and a pillow.

ā€œItā€™s very easy to get caught up in a vision of a radically different model of mobility,ā€ Hutchinson said. ā€œA future where personal use vehicles give way to shared transportation devices that will autonomously ferry people and goods from place to place.ā€

In this vision, Hutchinson lamented, people are lifelessly staring at screens while their mode of transportation takes them where they want to go.

Ā ā€œThe proposition that, given a choice, people would prefer to be idle occupants of a podā€¦ thatā€™s not Toyotaā€™s visionā€¦ not even close,ā€ he said.Ā  ā€œAs other automakers are working on vehicles that drive themselves – turning us into passive passengers – weā€™re incorporating advanced automated safety technologies in ways thatĀ enhance, rather than deaden, the driving experience.ā€

Instead of replacing the driver behind the wheel, Toyotaā€™s Guardian approach is a teamwork concept that sees advanced automated safety technologies act as their personal co-pilot, enhancing their awareness and control of the vehicle, and helping them be a better driver. Hutchinson believes that, in the future, cars will beĀ moreĀ fun to drive, not less so, and emphasized that Toyotaā€™s recent approach has been to build better, more exciting vehicles for people who love to drive.ā€œLots of people will tell you the future of mobility is one of robotic, shared use vehiclesā€¦ of autonomous pods and anonymous pod people,ā€ he stated.Ā  ā€œI donā€™t believe in pods.ā€

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.