Toyota Invests $5 Million in American Center for Mobility

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), together with Toyota Research Institute (TRI), announced their decision to support the American Center for Mobility (ACM) as a founder level sponsor, at the Annual Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan, on July 31^st. Toyota announced a contribution of $5 million to the American Center for Mobility (ACM). This investment will help the development of an autonomous vehicle facility, situated in Southeast Michigan.

As an ACM donor, Toyota will be part of a government industry team which aims to support ACM initiatives. This includes building an environment for testing in Southeast Michigan. Different companies will be able to test their Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technologies here. Toyota believes that creating such a unique test environment will help support the development acceleration of innovative and new CAV technologies. Furthermore, these technologies are allowed to be tested in a controlled and safe environment.

For Toyota, this investment also means promoting other innovations through cooperation with academic partners and with the government. For Toyota, ACM serves as motivation for more effective and safer transportation answers with vehicles that are equipped with CAV technologies.

“We are excited to be the first automaker joining this effort to create a test ground for advanced vehicle technologies in our backyard,” said Jeff Makarewicz, group vice president Safety and Vehicle Performance at TMNA Research & Development Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Together with industry and government partners, we would like to set a direction to realize connected and automated vehicles to help improve safety and mobility.”

“As we move forward with the development of autonomous cars, we must remember that not all test miles are created equal,” said Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research Institute. “The road to creating a car as safe, or safer, than a human driver will require billions of test miles including simulation, real-world driving on public roads, and closed-course testing where we can expose our systems to extreme circumstances and conditions. The new ACM closed-course facility is a significant step forward in this journey and will accelerate our ability to help prevent crashes and save lives.”

“I’m excited about our collaboration with Toyota,” said John Maddox, president and CEO of the American Center for Mobility at Willow Run. “Today’s announcement is another example of Toyota’s forward-looking vision and ability to move quickly on developing this potentially beneficial connected and automated technology.”

“Toyota’s long history of research and development in Michigan is impressive, as is their continuing commitment to this state and its people,” said Governor Rick Snyder. “Thanks to Toyota’s collaboration with ACM, Michigan can continue to maintain its momentum as a global leader in the ever-expanding transition from being the automotive capital to being the mobility capital.”

“Toyota deserves our thanks and praise for this significant investment in the American Center for Mobility,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.  “This is not only an investment in ACM, but is another strong sign that Michigan continues to lead the way in the future of mobility and innovation. Toyota has long been a responsible corporate partner in Michigan and this is yet another example of their commitment to our state and our workers.”