Toyota, the best-selling carmaker in the world, plans to introduce its first EV with autonomous driving capabilities in China following a steep decline in exports to the nation.
According to one of its Chinese joint ventures, Toyota intends to introduce the first electric car model for the Chinese market next year that is fitted with cutting-edge autonomous driving technology akin to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving.
The Bozhi 3X SUV, according to GAC Toyota, will be the first vehicle to be fitted with a technology that allows for enhanced driving assistance for parking and navigation in both urban and highway traffic starting next year.
It stated that doing this will guarantee its dominance in China’s autonomous driving technology market among all foreign companies.
GAC Toyota is developing the technology in collaboration with Momenta Global, a startup that creates autonomous driving software for automakers such as Mercedes-Benz.
It also collaborated with Huawei to employ the latter’s in-vehicle operating software, beginning with an electric sedan set to launch in China in 2025.
Newsng understands that Toyota used to be the largest automobile seller in China, but as it catches up with EV technology, its standing has declined.
In terms of automobile sales in China during the first four months of this year, the established automaker came in fifth place overall.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that its sales decreased by 22% during the same period in 2023.
The firm also revealed several innovative goals on Friday at an event in Guangzhou.
One of the possibilities would be a lithium iron phosphate battery, which may save its bZ4X EV’s manufacturing costs by forty per cent.
The battery will be available between 2026 and 2027, according to the company.
We earlier reported that to advance the use of AI in car manufacturing, Toyota announced that it will collaborate with Tencent, the dominant player in Chinese gaming and social media.