The corporate was based as textile maker Toyoda Boshoku Corp. in 1918 by Sakichi Toyoda, great-grandfather of Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda. It modified the “d” in its company title to a “t” in 2004. As we speak, it ranks No. 27 on Automotive Information‘ record of the top 100 global suppliers, with world gross sales of $9.33 billion in 2021.
Its new marketing strategy counts on assembly rising demand for ride-hailing and robotaxi fleets. The technique is partially modeled on the airline enterprise. A service’s jetliners final a few years, however the seats and interiors of these planes are always refurbished or upgraded.
Consider a airplane’s improve for plusher seats, semiprivate premium-class pods, newly outfitted video shows and even nicer bathrooms. Boshoku has been supplying interiors to the airline trade for years. In aerospace, Chung notes, a airplane stays in operation for 25 years — getting a brand new inside each six years or so. Toyota Boshoku desires to switch that mannequin to fleets on the bottom.
Experience-hailing and robotaxis will account for practically 40 % of the mobility market by 2030, when Degree three and Degree four automated driving change into commonplace, Toyota Boshoku predicts. Owned or leased autos, against this, ought to make up about 30 % of the market.
By 2050, it forecasts an much more dramatic shift, with Degree 5 robotaxis making up 80 %.
The outlook is a whole flip from the unfold at the moment. Experience-hailing accounts for a bit greater than 10 % now, whereas robotaxis are nonetheless in improvement. Personal autos maintain nearly 80 %.
However futuristic fleet operators are already planning their first strikes. Chinese language ride-hailing large Didi eyes 1 million robotaxis in 2030. In Texas, Toyota Motor and Aurora Innovation Inc. are testing an autonomous ride-hailing fleet.
In the meantime, Cruise and Waymo have won permits to launch business autonomous automobile companies in California. Cruise mentioned the approval makes it the primary firm providing a “driverless” business ride-hailing service — seen as an important step towards a way forward for robotaxis.
All this motion will spur automakers to make autos to fill these fleets. These akin to Kia Corp. are making such purpose-built vehicles a pillar of their future growth plans.
“The financial mannequin is shifting towards that,” Chung mentioned. “We’re satisfied that buyers will search for services or products that may give them extra time saving, extra comfort, extra space, extra privateness, extra well-being and a greater consumer expertise.”
By Chung’s estimates, at the moment’s human taxi driver averages 35,000 miles a 12 months, on eight-hour shifts. Degree four autonomous robotaxis, nevertheless, may function 20 hours a day, racking up as many as 87,000 miles a 12 months — or about 522,000 miles over the robotaxi’s anticipated six-year life span.
That equates to numerous put on and tear. Says Chung: “They’ll in all probability want to alter the interiors actually because they are going to be used and abused.”
Toyota Boshoku plans to drive quantity by promoting completely different units of interiors for every automobile, akin to economic system, economic system plus, premium and bespoke. It will permit the operator to reconfigure the pod to the shopper wants of the day.
That quantity would come on prime of standard upkeep and substitute of components.
Merely put, Boshoku sees a brighter future in pod vehicles, due to fast turnover.
“As we speak, over the lifetime of a automobile, you are simply caught with one set and simply use it till the tip of the life cycle. On this case, you possibly can have completely different retrofits,” Chung mentioned.
“For us, income will enhance as a result of for each automobile, we will promote not less than 4 completely different modules plus the replacements,” Chung mentioned. “We need to create new demand.”
Being tethered to Toyota Motor has its advantages in a assured income stream.
However Toyota Boshoku will get a lopsided 90 % of its income from Toyota. It wagers that if it might probably take the lead in interiors for future mobility, it might probably broaden its buyer base past Toyota Motor to different automakers and fleet purveyors.
A diversified gross sales base will not simply profit Toyota Boshoku; it can assist Toyota Motor by giving it a stronger provider community.
“We need to be an organization that grows even additional, even with new prospects or new segments,” Chung mentioned. “We need to be an organization that determines its personal future.”