Latest news with #Arene
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Indian Express
As carmakers struggle to integrate software systems into vehicles, Toyota weaves in its Arene toolkit
Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, unveiled its latest RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle that would be the first model to feature its Arene software development platform. In the new RAV4, the Arene platform has helped with the development of software powering the car's new multimedia system's cockpit voice agent and centre console display, as well as advanced safety technologies. Tokyo-based Toyota sells more cars each year than any other auto major in the world. So, justifiably, it had similar big ambitions when it created its own in-house technology startup in 2021 as it set about trying to build software for its newer cars, especially hybrids and battery electric vehicles. This is in keeping with the reality of new-age cars being more of a software product than being just an over-engineered, hardware product. But like in the case of other legacy carmakers, Toyota struggled somewhat to get started with its project – initially called Woven Planet when it was set up in 2021, and subsequently re-christened Woven by Toyota. The Arene platform is the first big commercial product to come out of this repurposed venture, which, Toyota says, combines the company's 'decades of manufacturing expertise with modern software capabilities'. The Arene Advantages Toyota says Arene gives its suppliers a common platform and standardised processes for better management of complex, multi-stakeholder development projects. With Arene, Toyota and its suppliers are able to 'maximise coordination, ensure cross-stream visibility, and simplify integration and testing'. This new platform would also help the carmaker expand and accelerate software testing. Physical testing is complemented by virtual testing, which allows for software features to be analysed discreetly and on any model or trim for more exhaustive quality assurance. Arene is built on the concept of 'kaizen', or continuous improvement — an integral feature of the Toyota assembly line philosophy. Rather than traditional linear development, the new platform is designed to 'make use of the latest iterative development methodologies' and leverage 'the best value of software breakthroughs'. 'Through abstracted APIs (application programming interface, or the connections between computers or between computer programmes), architected software layers and advanced testing protocols, Arene applications are interchangeable across platforms and reusable across vehicle generations, meaning a bigger return on investment,' a company executive said. 'Woven by Toyota' Toyota, just like pretty much of the legacy auto industry, is faced with the prospect of enormous technological disruptions that could upend production processes and change the nature of their products – from a hardware offering to a supercomputer-on-wheels. Consumers of electric vehicles want immersive entertainment systems and features such as autonomous driving. These are not areas that companies like Toyota have had expertise in in the past, whereas EV makers such as Tesla and China's BYD or Nio are far more invested in the software side of the business. So Toyota's goal with this new startup was to create a separate organisation that was at an arm's-length from the parent group, with its legacy of manufacturing and obsessive bureaucracy. A Google employee was brought in late 2021 as CEO for this project. It was called Woven Planet initially, to acknowledge Toyota's history as a loom maker in the 1920s. This distinct software project was in line with what Volkswagen tried out with its CARIAD software unit. Things, however, started to go wrong over the next 24 months, and Toyota announced significant changes at the venture, and subsequently renamed it 'Woven by Toyota'. The unit was then infused with Toyota executives and a clear signal was sent out that there would be more collaboration between this new venture and Toyota Motor. Arene is therefore a milestone for Toyota's new project. A senior executive from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the Japanese car major's India venture, said that the Japanese parent company had also launched retraining programmes for workers for the transition and that software engineers make up for a significant chunk of its mid-career hires, led by the company's autonomous driving unit. More software also means more data on consumers and on their driving behaviour, which legacy carmakers have been slow to tap as compared to EV makers.. The Software Transition This transition has been far easier for EV makers, who have progressively taken their software focus to near obsessive levels. The learning from both Tesla and BYD, the two EV market leaders, is that car brands are increasingly being differentiated by the consumer experience of using their inbuilt features, which is now determined much more by their software than the hardware. Amid this transition, software is also proving to be a weak link for legacy automakers. Like Toyota and Volkswagen, Japanese carmaker Honda Motor too plans to double the number of software programmers it employs to around 10,000 by 2030. This would involve deepening its partnership with Pune-based Indian software company KPIT Technologies, alongside building its own software engineering team. Amsterdam-headquartered Stellantis, formed after the merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France's PSA Group, and is now the world's fourth largest automaker, plans to hire over 1,000 software engineers in India by 2025, including for its autonomous vehicle plans. Volkswagen's CARIAD has now tied up with a Chinese software company in a collaborative approach. Most other legacy carmakers are falling back on Google's Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay to dovetail in-car plug-and-play software solutions. This is, however, accompanied by the problem of carmakers having to relinquish control and user data to Apple and Google. Anil Sasi is National Business Editor with the Indian Express and writes on business and finance issues. He has worked with The Hindu Business Line and Business Standard and is an alumnus of Delhi University. ... Read More
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New Toyota RAV4: boxy looks, tech upgrade and PHEV-only in UK
Toyota has lifted the covers off the sixth-generation RAV4, with the family SUV bringing a striking new look and a generational upgrade in on-board tech. The car's dramatic styling is said to reference the off-road credentials of earlier RAV4s, with a boxier – almost Land Cruiser-like – silhouette and chunkier wheel arches. The new hammerhead lights front and rear bring its looks into line with those of the latest Prius and C-HR. Inside, the RAV4 gets a new 12.9in infotainment touchscreen that is the first to run on Toyota's new Arene operating system. Like Google's Android or Apple's iOS, it is a standard platform that will be rolled out across all future Toyotas, to enable quicker and easier development of new features. This, Toyota said, will allow it to develop new and more powerful safety and entertainment systems and introduce new functions through over-the-air updates rather than requiring prospective buyers to wait for a new model generation. At the RAV4's launch, for example, the Arene platform will arrive with new safety features, such as a rear-approach monitor devised to help drivers merge onto motorways. In the longer term, the brand has previously mooted functionality such as downloadable performance packs that replicate the dynamics of different Toyotas: drivers could, for example, choose a GR86-inspired chassis set-up for a spirited drive, before switching to more Lexus-like damping for the journey home. The new RAV4 will be offered exclusively with plug-in hybrid powertrains in the UK. Exact specifications have yet to be confirmed, but in Europe there will be a choice of 264bhp front-wheel-drive and 300bhp four-wheel-drive powertrains. The most powerful PHEV is capable of sprinting from 0-62mph in 5.8sec, and it can drive under electric power alone for up to 62 miles. Its 22.7kWh battery can be topped up at up to 50kW on a DC connection, taking 30 minutes to go from 10-80%, or at 11kW on AC. In Europe there will also be a choice of 181bhp and 188bhp regular hybrids, with front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive respectively. Also on offer will be a GR Sport variant with a focus on handling and featuring lightweight 20in alloy wheels, a 20mm-wider track, different dampers and stiffer springs. Inside, the GR Sport will get bucket-like sports seats, aluminium pedals and an abundance of GR badging. Pricing has yet to be confirmed but is expected to represent a small step up from the current RAV4 PHEV's starting price of £44,120. Deliveries are set to begin next spring, but an exact date has yet to be fixed. ]]>
Kyodo News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: May 21, 2025
KYODO NEWS - May 21, 2025 - 23:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan farm minister resigns over controversial gifted rice gaffe TOKYO - Farm minister Taku Eto resigned Wednesday after facing a backlash over a remark that struck a nerve with the public suffering from soaring rice prices, dealing a blow to the already unpopular Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of a parliamentary election. Ishiba, who ultimately bowed to opposition pressure and sacked Eto, picked Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, as the new agriculture minister, installing the popular former environment minister who lost in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race last year. ---------- Japan PM vows rice price rollback amid inflation, rules out tax cut TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged Wednesday to take necessary steps to lower rice prices that have doubled over the past year, but repeatedly rejected opposition calls to cut Japan's consumption tax to support households. During a one-on-one parliamentary debate with opposition leaders, Ishiba said he would, as soon as possible, bring rice prices down to below 4,000 yen ($28) per 5 kilograms from their average current level of 4,268 yen in early May, vowing to stake his job on achieving the target. ---------- Foreign visitors to Japan in April set monthly record at 3.9 million TOKYO - The number of foreign visitors to Japan in April, when travel demand is high due to the country's cherry blossom season and Easter holidays overseas, hit a record for a single month of 3.9 million, government data showed Wednesday. Foreign arrivals surged 28.5 percent from a year earlier, surpassing the previous record of 3.78 million in January, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. ---------- Toyota unveils latest RAV4, 1st to incorporate new software system NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday unveiled the latest RAV4 to be rolled out in Japan, North America and Europe in the current fiscal year through March, with the revamped model of the compact sport utility vehicle to be the first to incorporate its new software system. "RAV4 marks the start of our journey in building software-defined vehicles," Simon Humphries, chief branding officer of the Japanese automaker, said in the world premiere for the all-new SUV featuring the Arene software development platform, to be available as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid. ---------- Tokyo to waive basic water fees to help beat extreme summer heat TOKYO - Basic water utility charges will be waived for households in Tokyo for four months this summer, as the metropolitan government hopes offsetting water costs will encourage residents not to hold back on using their air conditioning to stay cool amid increasingly extreme heat. A supplementary budget bill that includes 36.8 billion yen ($256 million) to cover the costs will be submitted to a Tokyo metropolitan assembly session in June. ---------- Surging China game console exports to Russia spark dual-use fears BEIJING - Chinese exports of video game consoles to Russia have jumped nearly sevenfold since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Chinese customs data, raising concerns that such devices could be diverted for military use. In 2024, China shipped $95.38 million worth of gaming devices, including controllers, to Russia, according to customs data released earlier this month. A Chinese research firm has said the sharp increase indicates gaming equipment is "becoming increasingly popular in Russia." ---------- Japan's oldest person dies at 114 NAGOYA - Mine Kondo, a 114-year-old woman in central Japan recognized as the country's oldest person, has died, the health ministry said Wednesday. Kondo, who died Tuesday, had been using a wheelchair for several years and hospitalized since March due to aspiration pneumonia, according to her family. Born on Sept. 1, 1910, she is survived by 33 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren. ---------- Sumo: Ozeki Onosato marches on with 11th win, Hoshoryu 2 wins back TOKYO - Ozeki Onosato has taken another step toward yokozuna promotion with his 11th straight win at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday when grand champion Hoshoryu became his closest rival as the only wrestler with two defeats. Onosato had a tricky bout to navigate at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena as an in-form komusubi Wakatakakage (8-3) retreated initially but drove forward with courage, putting his head on the ozeki's chest while holding a left underarm belt hold at the same time. Video: Performances on Osaka Expo-designated Latvia day
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyota debuts new software system in revamped RAV4
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota unveiled its latest RAV4 on Wednesday and said the compact sport utility vehicle would be its first model to feature its Arene software development platform. "The RAV4 marks a start in our journey in building software-defined vehicles," Simon Humphries, Toyota's chief branding officer, said. In the new RAV4, the platform has helped with the development of software powering the new multimedia system's cockpit voice agent and centre display, as well as advanced safety technologies. Launched in 1994, the RAV4 has become one of Toyota's most popular models worldwide, with more than a million vehicles sold last year. Toyota plans to launch the sixth-generation RAV4 in North America, Japan and Europe in the current business year to end-March 2026. It will also have variants with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. The plug-in hybrid vehicles will have a battery-only range of 150 km (93 miles). Toyota is considering producing the latest version of the vehicle in the United States instead of an earlier plan to export from Japan and Canada, people familiar with the matter have said, rethinking its supply chains to lessen the hit from U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles. The current version of the RAV4 is made in Kentucky, Japan and Canada. Toyota said at the time it had nothing to announce.
Asahi Shimbun
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Asahi Shimbun
Toyota shows off new RAV4 with in-house Arene software system
Toyota's sixth-generation RAV4 comes in either a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid model. (Go Takahashi) Toyota Motor Corp. has rolled out a fully redesigned RAV4 for the first time in six years, marking a major step forward in its push toward next-generation software-defined vehicles (SDVs). The RAV4 is one of Toyota's key global models, accounting for 10 percent of the company's total vehicle sales in 2024 with 1.05 million units sold worldwide. The sixth-generation RAV4 announced on May 21 does not have a model that runs solely on gasoline and instead comes in two electric versions: a hybrid vehicle (HV) and a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV). Toyota touts that drivers can cover up to 150 kilometers exclusively on an electric charge in the PHV, a more than 50 percent increase in distance. Acceleration and off-road performance have also been improved. In a first for Toyota, the new RAV4 features the company's operating system for vehicles that was developed in-house and is known as Arene. This software platform allows for over-the-air updates to enhance driving performance, safety features and other core functions in real time. Toyota plans to install Arene in more models in the future in its attempt to position the new RAV4 as a pioneer with its software-driven strategy. The new RAV4 is scheduled to launch in Japan by March 2026. Pricing details are to be announced at a later date. Originally introduced in 1994, the RAV4 has become one of Toyota's most successful global vehicles. In 2024, nearly half of the model's sales, 480,000 units, were in the United States. This has raised concerns about the potential impact of the 25 percent additional auto tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
