Toyota’s new Corolla／Crown features connected car technology to attract young consumers

[Global Network Comprehensive Report] According to US media on June 26th, on the 26th, Toyota began selling a newly designed Corolla Sport hatchback and flagship sedan Crown (similar to the Avalon in the US market) in Japan as its first-generation all-vehicle to everything car. Toyota’s data communication module hardware will be standard. With this configuration, drivers can perform operations such as closing the windows and using Toyota’s T-Connect service to ask for help from a virtual assistant through their mobile phones.

Toyota’s move is mainly to attract a new generation of consumers. According to Toyota, although the Corolla is Toyota’s best-selling model, the average age of Corolla owners in Japan is over 70 years old. Therefore, attracting a new generation of consumers has become a top priority for Toyota. Toyota believes that this goal can be achieved through vehicle to everything technology implementation. Yoshiki Konishi, chief engineer of Toyota’s data communication module, said this month that the Corolla is currently attracting mainly older consumers. Although it is important to keep the original customers, the key now is to rebrand.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda is trying to turn the automaker into a mobility service provider. The auto industry is in transition, with McKinsey estimating that car data revenue could reach $750 billion by 2030. Toyota calls cloud computing a double-edged sword for emerging auto companies and has set a goal of 70% of Toyota’s new cars being equipped with vehicle to everything technology by 2020.

Most of the services currently offered by Toyota in the Corolla and Crown are not new, and some are more than a decade old. Deploying vehicle to everything technology for the first time in these two vehicles will meet the needs of a new generation of consumers to enjoy more services. Consumers can use T-Connect for three years for free, and Toyota aims to familiarize users with services such as artificial intelligence-powered navigation assistance and 24/7 operators. Through this service, drivers can find nearby restaurants or ask for help if they are not feeling well.

Toyota plans to sell 2,300 Corolla Sport hatchbacks a month in Japan, up from 1,000 for the Auris model. New cars start at about 2.10 million yen (about 126,200 yuan), while the Auris starts at about 1.80 million yen (about 108,300 yuan).

(Internship Compiler: Li Yumin, Reviewer: Liu Yang)