Many OEMs are grappling with how to carve out a role in the new world of connected vehicles, ride sharing and selling mobility as a service. Toyota is the latest OEM looking to get a foothold in this brave new world, by partnering with Servco Pacific Inc. (Servco) to test a new car-sharing technology.
The company says the suite of car sharing software and services it is piloting is part of Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform (MSPF).
The car-sharing app will support driver identification and authentication, payment, and fleet management functionality. It also includes a Smart Key Box that lets users lock and unlock vehicles using a smartphone.
Toyota developed the application in house and it’s managed by the Toyota Connected North America business unit.
“This new application demonstrates the power of combining Toyota’s unrivaled global manufacturing and technology capacity with dealers’ extensive local operations to provide consumers with more convenient options to move,” said Shigeki Tomoyama, President of Connected Company, Toyota Motor Corporation.
It’s unclear at this early stage, what role dealers will play in the car sharing economy. But Toyota officials are hailing it as “the future of mobility.”
“This successful launch of the MSPF represents the next generation in car-sharing platforms and is Toyota’s global foundation for fleet management, car-sharing, and the future of mobility,” said Zack Hicks, CEO of Toyota Connected North America. “Its powerful and flexible API based platform allows us to quickly adapt to new market opportunities and support deployment of locally-tailored mobility services.”
The company says it has been working with a company called Getaround on a car-sharing pilot program in San Francisco, and this new pilot with Servco is aimed at enhancing the car-sharing application, and take advantage of next generation connected vehicle systems.
The company says that “eventually” it will also begin working with dealers and distributors to “tailor the core technology for their markets, aiming for safe and more convenient, customer-centric mobility services.”
The pilot program is being conducted in Hawaii, and the company expects it to lead to a new car share business by the end of 2017 in Honolulu.
