Toyota was once again the world's biggest carmaker in 2024, with 10.8 million vehicles produced globally. So what does the automotive giant with everything do next? Make its own city, of course.
Woven City is Toyota's "prototype city of the future"; it's just opened for residents and company partners.
Five years ago, the then-CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda, announced that Toyota would be building a living laboratory at the base of Mt Fuji in Japan. Woven City would be designed as a compact, sustainable city where ideas and technologies, such as autonomous electric vehicles and reticulated hydrogen providing energy for homes, could be tested in real life.
Mr Toyoda, now chairman of Toyota, has announced that phase one of the Woven City campus is complete and the first of an expected 2000 residents will soon move in.
He says the company plans to focus on four key areas of research and innovation: mobility of people, goods, information and energy: “We think of Woven City as a ‘test course for mobility'... where we can develop any number of solutions. From personal mobility devices... like a wheelchair race car... because everybody should experience the joy of going fast!... to drones that safely escort you home at night."
Woven City will house a wide range of people, dubbed “weavers”, including Toyota employees and their families, retirees, scientists, retailers, industry partners, entrepreneurs and visiting academics.
Spaces have been built for laboratories and startups to develop, build and test their concepts. Mr Toyoda has invited innovative companies to talk to Toyota about working from Woven City and has announced a pitch competition for fully funded scholarships to the Woven City, for start-ups or individuals who need financial support to bring their ideas to life.
