TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp (TMC) and KDDI Corp have partnered to establish a global communications platform, to support car connectivity.
Toyota aims to bring greater connectivity to its vehicles throughout the world, and to do so, the use of a uniform data communications module (DCM) will be essential.
DCMs can be connected without relying on global roaming services, and will be the standard equipment in nearly all new Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in Japan and the U.S. by 2020.
Toyota aims to develop such globally uniform DCMs by 2019.
As such, to support communications between DCMs and Cloud services, TMC and KDDI will jointly plan and design a global communications platform which KDDI will develop and operate.
Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of TMC, stated, "Communications technology is essential to enhance vehicle connectivity and Toyota has been making efforts in this field for years."
Takashi Tanaka, president of KDDI, said, "We are excited to participate in this large project which aims for a future where vehicles are connected in a variety of countries all over the world."
