Official launch scheduled for fall 2025
LAS
VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At CES
2025, Toyota Motor Corporation ("Toyota") announced the completion
of Phase 1 construction of Toyota Woven City ("Woven City"), its
test course for mobility. The launch of Phase 1 is planned for fall
2025 or shortly thereafter.
Toyota first announced its transformation into a mobility
company at CES 2018 and, at CES 2020, unveiled the Woven City
concept being developed in collaboration with Woven by Toyota
("WbyT") to demonstrate Toyota's long-term commitment to shaping
the future of mobility.
Woven City has made steady progress since its groundbreaking
ceremony on February 23, 2021, at the
former site of Toyota Motor East Japan's ("TMEJ") Higashi-Fuji
Plant in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Construction of Phase 1 buildings — the
initial area for co-creation activities — was completed in
October 2024. Preparations for the
official launch are now underway.
Woven City's Phase 1 has also previously been recognized for its
environmentally conscious and human-centric design aimed at
enhancing people's overall quality of life. It earned Japan's first LEED for Communities1
Platinum certification, the system's highest rank.
Alongside Phase 1 preparations, renovation of a former TMEJ
Higashi-Fuji Plant facility into a manufacturing hub for Woven City
is underway, and site preparation work for Phase 2 has commenced.
Insights from Phase 1 will help refine plans for Phase 2 and future
phases, and continually enhance the test course's
functionality.
Woven City is a test course for mobility where "Inventors" who
share a commitment to working "for someone other than themselves"
can develop, test, and validate innovative products and services.
These inventors include Toyota and Toyota Group companies, such as
WbyT, as well as external companies, startups, and individual
entrepreneurs. By leveraging Toyota's decades-long manufacturing
expertise and WbyT's software capabilities, Woven City offers a
unique environment equipped with the tools and services needed to
tackle societal challenges and create future-focused value. Through
collaboration among inventors and feedback from residents and
visitors, Woven City aims to drive innovation and shape a better
tomorrow.
The inventors of Woven City who have been confirmed so far are
as follows.
Inventors
|
Company
|
Business
Description
|
Theme of
Co-Creation
in Woven City
|
|
Daikin Industries,
Ltd.
|
Manufacturing, sales
and after-sales
services of air
conditioning products,
fluorochemical
products, etc.
|
Testing "pollen-free
spaces" and
"personalized
functional
environments"
|
|
DyDo DRINCO,
INC.
|
Manufacturing and sales
of soft drinks
and other beverages,
etc.
|
Creating new value
through
innovative vending
machine
concepts
|
|
NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS
CO., LTD.
|
Manufacturing and sales
of instant
noodles and related
products, etc.
|
Creating and evaluating
food
environments to inspire
new
'food
cultures'
|
|
UCC Japan Co.,
Ltd.
|
Regional headquarters
of Japanese
operating companies
engaged in coffee
manufacturing and
sales
|
Exploring the potential
value of
coffee through
futuristic cafe
experiences
|
|
Zoshinkai Holdings
Inc.
|
Comprehensive education
services
offering correspondence
education
and classroom
programs
|
Leveraging data to
realize
innovative educational
methods
and new learning
environments
|
|
Alphabetical order as of January 7,
2025
|
Woven City is also in continued discussions with previously
announced companies such as ENEOS Corporation, Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone Corporation (NTT), and Rinnai Corporation.
External startups, entrepreneurs, universities and research
institutions are also scheduled to be invited to Woven City through
an accelerator program, starting in summer 2025.
Residents and visitors will play an equally vital role alongside
inventors in Woven City. Known as 'Weavers,' these individuals
share a passion for the 'expansion of mobility' and a commitment to
building a more flourishing society. Through their participation in
co-creation activities, Weavers will contribute to realizing the
full potential of Woven City.
At the official launch of Woven City, starting in fall 2025 or
thereafter, approximately 100 residents — primarily Toyota and WbyT
staff and their families — are expected to participate in
co-creation activities as the first residents. The community will
then gradually expand to include external inventors and their
families. Phase 1 is projected to accommodate around 360 residents,
with the total population, including Phase 2 and subsequent phases,
expected to reach approximately 2,000. Initially, visitors will be
limited to related parties, with plans to welcome the general
public to participate as Weavers in co-creation activities starting
in FY2026 or thereafter.
Woven City also serves as a test course for Toyota's
transformation into a mobility company. Together, Toyota and WbyT
aim to redefine mobility, expanding its scope beyond transportation
to encompass the movement of people, goods, information, and energy
for the benefit of individuals and society. Designed as a
human-centered city, Woven City places the people who gather there
— Inventors and Weavers — at its center to unlock new possibilities
in the shared pursuit of "Well-being for All". With an eye on
expanding mobility from land, sea, and air to space, WbyT also
announced an investment in Interstellar Technologies Inc. and will
leverage Toyota's expertise to support the mass production of
rockets.
Woven City Phase 1 Basic Information
|
Address
|
1117 Mishuku, Susono
City, Shizuoka, Japan
(Former site of the
TMEJ Higashi-Fuji plant)
|
|
Site
Area
|
Approx. 50,000 sq. m
(approx.708,000 sq. m in total in the future)
|
|
Main
Timeline
|
●
January 7, 2020: Concept announced at CES 2020
●
February 23, 2021: Phase 1 Groundbreaking Ceremony. Start of site
preparation work in March 2021
●
October 10, 2022: Phase1 Safety Prayer Ceremony. Start of building
work for Phase 1 in November 2022
●
October 31, 2024: Completion of Phase 1 construction
●
Starting in Fall 2025 or thereafter: Phase 1 official
launch
|
|
Residents
|
From fall 2025 or
thereafter, Toyota and Toyota-related personnel will begin to move
in, and in Phase 1, a total
of approximately 360
people are scheduled to live there (in the future, the number of
residents is expected to
expand to 2,000 people
in all areas)
|
1. LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design and refers to a system for evaluating the
environmental performance of buildings and cities operated by the
U.S. Green Building Council. Woven City was certified in
March 2023.
About Woven by Toyota
Woven by Toyota, a part of the Toyota Group, is challenging the
current state of mobility through human-centric innovation and
empowering mobility transformation. Through our AD/ADAS technology,
our automotive software development platform Arene OS, our mobility
test course Toyota Woven City, and Toyota's growth fund, Woven
Capital, we are pioneering the movement of people, goods,
information, and energy, weaving a future of enhanced safety,
connectivity and well-being for all.
About Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Motor Corporation works to develop and manufacture
innovative, safe and high-quality products and services that create
happiness by providing mobility for all. We believe that true
achievement comes from supporting our customers, partners,
employees, and the communities in which we operate. Since our
founding over 80 years ago in 1937, we have applied our Guiding
Principles in pursuit of a safer, greener and more inclusive
society. Today, as we transform into a mobility company developing
connected, automated, shared and electrified technologies, we also
remain true to our Guiding Principles and many of the United
Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to help realize an
ever-better world, where everyone is free to move.
SDGs Initiatives:
https://global.toyota/en/sustainability/sdgs/
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in
North America for more than 65
years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation
mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than
1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the
design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and
trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota's plant in
North Carolina will begin to
manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With
more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker,
Toyota currently offers 30 electrified options.
For more information about Toyota,
visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Media
Contacts
Olivia Boisineau-Beckett
olivia.boisineau-beckett@toyota.com
734.834.0885
Rick Bourgoise
richard.bourgoise@toyota.com
(313) 405-5972
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SOURCE Toyota Motor Corporation