Toyota to bring latest technologies and Toyota Production System to support mobility at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

Universal access, electrified technologies, including fuel cell technology, automated driving, mobility as a service, connected mobility and TPS-based transportation support are among the technologies and services that will give officials, athletes and spectators an experience of tomorrow’s “mobility for all” and support the sustainable and smooth operation of “the most innovative Games in history”.

With two years to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Toyota today outlined the mobility concept that will become the basis for its Tokyo 2020 Games activities, organised around three main pillars: 1 Mobility for all; 2 Sustainability, centring on the realisation of a hydrogen society, with the environment and safety as core principles; and 3 Transportation support of staff, media and athletes between Games venues using a system based on the Toyota Production System (TPS).

Toyota believes that giving unprecedented access to people, including those with impairments, brings the notion of mobility back to its fundamental meaning: the freedom to move.

In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the company would like to help make Tokyo, the first host city to welcome both the Olympic and Paralympic Games for a second time, a global showcase for “Mobility for All,” contributing to making those games the most innovative in history.

“The freedom of being mobile is at the heart of being able to participate in society,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda. “If someone wants to take on a challenge and moving is what is preventing them from doing so, Toyota would like to help tackle that problem. We want mobility to be a possibility, not an obstacle. By being involved with the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Special Olympics Games, I hope that Toyota will come to respect everyone’s uniqueness and embrace diversity. Once that is realised, we will finally be able to take a step closer to our goal of “mobility for all” and ensure, like athletes show us every day, that being mobile equals having a chance to make one’s dreams come true.”

Toyota became the first worldwide mobility partner of the IOC and the IPC in 2015 with the aim of contributing to “creating a peaceful society through mobility”. Additionally, from last year, Toyota launched its first global corporate initiative, “Start Your Impossible,” to bring people together and contribute to a society where all people can challenge what is possible. The product categories covered by the Toyota sponsorship are: vehicles, mobility services and certain transportation and mobility support products (including robots). At Tokyo 2020, Toyota’s support will be deployed in three main areas: –

1 “Mobility for All”

Taking on the challenge to provide the freedom to move to everyone, including those with impairments, through the Tokyo 2020 games, Toyota will: –

• Showcase the future of automated driving as the ultimate “mobility for all,” demonstrating how automated vehicles could one day offer the freedom to move everyone. Verification testing and demonstrations using SAE Level 4* automation, where all driving functions are performed by the vehicle in certain well-defined areas of operation, will take place in the Toyota Water Front City and Haneda areas in Tokyo.
• Introduce a new type of moving experience through a demonstration of “TOYOTA Concept-i,” a car that recognises drivers’ emotions and preferences and make conversation using artificial intelligence (AI).
• Support transportation services for athletes and affiliated guests around the Athletes’ Village with e-Palette, the next-generation battery electric vehicle designed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
• Provide its existing assistive vehicles line-up, WelCab, as well as new personal mobility devices and support for last-mile mobility needs. Toyota also hopes its new JPN Taxi, introduced in October 2017, will be popular around Tokyo to welcome visitors from around the world, including people using wheelchairs.
• Provide personal mobility solutions such as the Toyota i-ROAD, as well as standing-riding device, to support working staff at the Games, such as security officers.

2 Sustainability, with the environment and safety as core principles, centred on the realisation of a hydrogen society

Toyota plans to contribute to sustainable Games by providing a fleet of more than 3,000 passenger vehicles for official use and others, equipped with the latest environmental and safety technologies to minimise environmental burden and traffic accidents.

• In order to make Tokyo 2020 a turning point in realising a hydrogen society, Toyota will support the Games and their legacy with a large number of zero emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) such as the Mirai saloon, for official use. In addition, the fuel cell bus Sora and fuel cell forklifts made and sold by Toyota Industries Corporation, will help support the games.
• In addition to FCEVs, the rest of the fleet will mainly comprise the latest hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs/PHVs) from the Toyota and Lexus line-ups, and new battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
• Vehicles for official use will be equipped with the latest active safety technology packages, such as Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) and Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+), as well as Parking Support Brake (PSBK), a technology to help prevent the kind of collisions that primarily occur in car parks and garages.
• In addition to the official vehicles above, some vehicles will feature Highway Teammate, an automated driving safety function that allows hands-off driving on highways (SAE Level 2* automation).

3 Games official transportation support using the Toyota Production System

It is estimated that 15 million visitors will join Tokyo’s 15 million citizens during the Games period. While the Tokyo Metropolitan Area will surely live up to its reputation as one of the most efficient cities for urban mobility, Toyota will support the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to help ensure safe and effective transportation between venues for those using the official fleet. To do this, the company will provide the knowledge it has gained through years of experience applying the Toyota Production System.

• Toyota will also support the movement of official staff and athletes to and from events with the latest information and connected technologies, such as vehicle Data Communication Modules, connected to its Mobility Service Platform, to provide safe, secure and smooth transportation of people and freight during the games.
• Toyota will also support on-the-ground vehicle dispatching and transportation operations from an efficiency standpoint.

Cities around the world currently face challenges surrounding mobility, having to solve issues ranging from traffic congestion to air pollution traffic accidents and access for people with impairments. Starting from Tokyo 2020, and through Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024, Toyota is helping to help tackle these challenges in collaboration with stakeholders around the world, and contribute to creating legacy to realise a sustainable mobility society.

Toyota will disclose more of its plans and contributions, including those related to new mobility products and solutions, between now and Tokyo 2020.

* For more details regarding SAE levels, please visit http://automatedtoyota.com/how-toyota-approaches-automated-driving-development/

About Toyota’s Top Olympic Partnership and Worldwide Paralympic Partnership

Toyota became the official worldwide mobility partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Committees in 2015 for the 2017-2024 period, covering the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 (Korea) and Beijing 2022 (China) and the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020 (Japan) and Paris 2024 (France). As a partner, Toyota aims to encourage creation of a peaceful society without discrimination through sports and a commitment to creating a sustainable society through mobility. In this spirit, Toyota also became the Global Partner of the Special Olympics International in 2017. Toyota’s values of continuous improvement and respect for people are shared by The Olympic and Paralympic Games, which brings together the entire world in friendship and solidarity to celebrate the highest realisation of human potential. Toyota believes that mobility goes beyond cars; it is about overcoming challenges and making dreams come true, which is encapsulated in the company’s “Start Your Impossible” corporate initiative and is the basis for its transformation from a car company to a mobility company. When you are free to move, anything is possible.

ENDS