Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the new e-Palette Alliance will leverage Toyota's proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) to develop a suite of connected mobility solutions and a flexible, purpose-built vehicle. Toyota says the new alliance will create a broad-based ecosystem of hardware and software support designed to help a range of companies utilise advanced mobility technology to better serve customers.
Launch partners include Amazon, DiDi, Mazda, Pizza Hut and Uber, who will collaborate on vehicle planning, application concepts and vehicle verification activities.
In the near term, the Alliance says it will focus on the development of the new e-Palette Concept Vehicle, also unveiled at CES. The concept reflects one of Toyota's visions for Automated Mobility as a Service (Autono-MaaS) applications. It is a fully-automated, next generation battery electric vehicle (BEV) designed to be scalable and customizable for a range of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) businesses. What's more, the company says, the e-Palette Concept "demonstrates Toyota's continued commitment to partnership and flexibility".
"The automobile industry is clearly amidst its most dramatic period of change as technologies like electrification, connected and automated driving are making significant progress. Toyota remains committed to making ever better cars. Just as important, we are developing mobility solutions to help everyone enjoy their lives, and we are doing our part to create an ever-better society for the next 100 years and beyond, said Toyotasaid Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda. "This announcement marks a major step forward in our evolution towards sustainable mobility, demonstrating our continued expansion beyond traditional cars and trucks to the creation of new values including services for customers."
In addition to supporting the services provided through Toyota's MSPF, the company adds that the e-Palette Concept Vehicle's open vehicle control interface and a set of software tools allow partner companies to install their own automated driving system and vehicle management technology. When a partner company's automated driving system is installed, Toyota's Guardian technology will act as a safety net to help ensure appropriate operation.
