Forward-thinking research drives safer future vehicles
Safety is a top priority for fleet managers. As the world moves towards an automated driving future, Toyota is committing $USD37 million ($AUD47 million) towards research and innovative technologies that will help navigate the safety challenges that lie ahead.
Toyota’s pioneering Collaborative Safety Research Centre (CSRC) was established in 2011 to partner with leading academic, health and research institutions on projects aimed at reducing traffic casualties. Previous programs have led to critical advances in safety technology, such as systems that can predict and detect serious illness such as heart attack in drivers and monitor drivers with diabetes.
Toyota’s new global initiative, called CSRC Next is designed to advance research that will foster the safe transition to ‘‘driverless’’ and connected vehicles. It’s a critical step forward for a technology that promises exciting opportunities for the entire transport industry, particularly fleets.
‘‘We are excited to be continuing our safety mission by helping support a safe evolution to a broader mobility future’’
The research will explore four themes, including:
- potential integration of active and passive safety systems with advanced pre-crash sensors able to improve and personalise crash protection
- building vehicle-user experience models to study and strengthen the relationship between driver and vehicle
- studying methods of detecting a driver’s personal condition to improve crash prevention
- developing algorithms and tools to study naturalistic driving data
CSRC director, Chuck Gulash said the research investment showed that Toyota understood the importance of human interaction with emerging vehicle technologies.
‘‘These highly advanced systems are radically reshaping the transportation landscape, building a relationship between drivers, occupants and vehicles as teammates working together safely and conveniently,’’ Mr Gulash said.
In all, there are eight projects in the pipeline to be conducted with six academic institutions, including work with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab to develop systems that will enable vehicles to identify objects in their environment and understand social interactions in traffic.
Toyota’s investment in vehicle safety research is just one example of the company’s ongoing commitment to providing the safest and most responsible ways of moving people, especially within the fleet industry.
‘‘We are excited to be continuing our safety mission by helping support a safe evolution to a broader mobility future,’’ said Mr Gulash.
If you’re interested in seeing the full report of CRSC’s findings so far, please click here.
Six of the best for Toyota HiLux
Australia’s best-selling vehicle Toyota HiLux has topped the local sales charts for the sixth month in a row - adding another ‘‘first’’ to the vehicle’s remarkable achievements.
The popular workhorse has outsold all-comers each month from March to August to become the only vehicle of its type to string together a six-month winning streak.
HiLux achieved the milestone by breaking its own August sales record with 4,287 deliveries – the fourth time this year the popular workhorse has set a new monthly sales record.
The last vehicle to achieve six consecutive months of sales leadership was another Toyota – Corolla – over the identical period in 2014 (March to August). The best previous run for HiLux was five months in a row from April to August, 2012.
So far this year, HiLux sales have risen 13.7 per cent to an all-time record of 31,407 deliveries, putting it on track to be crowned as Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the second year in a row.
HiLux now leads this year’s race by more than 3,100 deliveries, which puts it almost 11 per cent ahead of its nearest rival.
In August, buoyant demand for HiLux – along with continued strong results for Corolla, Camry and the LandCruiser family - enabled Toyota to outsell the combined totals of its two nearest rivals.
The market leader’s August result of 18,511 vehicles brings its tally so far this year to more than 145,400 sales. No other brand has reached 80,000 sales.
Toyota Australia’s executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the brand and its dealers have achieved a market share in excess of 19 per cent for seven of the past 14 months.
‘‘Toyota is well positioned with strong availability of SUVs, led by RAV4 which is selling at record levels this year while LandCruiser wagon and Prado are experiencing their strongest demand in 13 years and five years, respectively,’’ Mr Cramb said.
‘‘We continue to see sales momentum for our commercial vehicles with HiLux surging to record levels and the 70 Series LandCruiser showing double-digit percentage growth,’’ he said.
‘‘At the same time, Camry is bucking the trend in the passenger-car segment by posting growth of 11.4 per cent so far this year.’’
Toyota’s ‘Cash-for-Goals’ gives back to grassroots footy clubs
Toyota doesn’t just support the fleet industry. It’s also behind many charities and sports. This support extends to grassroots football clubs – something many Australians hold dear to their hearts.
Toyota believes that every person, in every community, deserves the chance to play the game they love. So, in June this year, the company donated $500 to grassroots footy clubs for every goal scored in four AFL matches, as part of their Cash-for-Goal incentive.
The selected matches were Adelaide vs Hawthorn, Sydney vs Essendon, West Coast vs Melbourne, and Richmond vs Carlton.
Amongst the goal-kickers was Toyota Ambassador, Jarryd Roughead. His Victorian club, the Leongatha Parrots, has seen three generations of his family kick-start their football careers.
“Every player at Hawthorn – and I’m sure all the other clubs – will be going their hardest to give their junior clubs a decent kick-along.” Roughead said before his game.
For three action-packed days, local clubs across the country were on the edge of their seats, hoping that their home-grown stars could kick through the posts and score cash for their club.
And score they did. The televised matches saw 65 professional AFL players kick 97 goals. This led to Toyota donating a grand total of $48,500 to grassroots footy. The money raised was shared across 60 clubs from almost every state and territory in Australia.
The Cash-for-Goals incentive is part of Toyota’s Good for Footy Program. Through this initiative, Toyota and the Toyota Dealer Network have kicked in more than $4 million to grassroots clubs since 2008.
100% of funds raised go into helping these clubs develop better facilities, get extra coaching support, buy new footy gear and attract new players.
Toyota will continue to support hundreds of clubs around the country, from juniors to seniors, boys and girls, from all cultures and every ability. Now that’s Good for Footy.
Check out the industry sales figures
