By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — February 15, 2019 — Larry Hutchinson, President, and CEO of Toyota Canada spoke to a room full of key Canadian automotive industry influencers discussing that with the automotive industry racing to fully autonomous vehicles, it is often forgotten that people still like to drive.
“I believe our industry is at a crucial fork in the road. We’re on the cusp of an important evolution in transportation,” Hutchinson said to a room full of key Canadian automotive influencers at an annual stakeholder dinner.
Toyota introduced its new autonomous concept referred to as the Guardian at the CES 2019 show earlier this year.
Hutchinson confirms that Toyota believes drivers want to be engaged and that they want a vehicle that reflects their lifestyle and personality. If the auto industry ignores this, Hutchinson warns, they do so at their peril.
“It’s very easy to get caught up in a vision of a radically different model of mobility,” Hutchinson said. “A future where personal use vehicles give way to shared transportation devices that will autonomously ferry people and goods from place to place.”
In this vision, Hutchinson explains that people are lifelessly staring at screens while their mode of transportation takes them where they want to go.
“The proposition that, given a choice, people would prefer to be idle occupants of a pod… that’s not Toyota’s vision… not even close,” he said. “As other automakers are working on vehicles that drive themselves – turning us into passive passengers – we’re incorporating advanced automated safety technologies in ways that enhance, rather than deaden, the driving experience.”
Rather than a human driver behind the wheel, Toyota’s Guardian approach is a cooperative concept that 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 future cars will be more fun to drive and emphasized that Toyota’s recent approach has been to build a better and more exciting vehicle for people who have a passion for driving.
“Lots of people will tell you the future of mobility is one of robotic, shared-use vehicles… of autonomous pods and anonymous pod people,” he stated. “I don’t believe in pods.”
