Toyota’s Woven Planet speeds up development of software-defined vehicles

The changes seem designed to jump-start Woven’s activities as Arene nears deployment and the wider industry gets engaged in software-defined vehicles.

In October, Hyundai Motor Group said it will invest about $12.6 billion through 2030 to develop and deploy software-defined vehicles.

That rollout includes the creation of a new operating system for over-the-air updates in all Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles by 2025.

To date, Woven has delivered only one major product, the Teammate Advanced Drive Level 2 automated driving system used in the Lexus LS and Toyota Mirai sedans. That software launched in April 2021 with two over-the-air updates later that year.

Toyota executives see Arene as the big breakthrough.

In the meantime, Kuffner has set up Woven Planet and rapidly scaled up its operations to now include 1,800 employees worldwide. That total covers engineers and programmers brought in through an aggressive acquisition spree that included the half-billion-dollar purchase of the autonomous driving division of American ride-hailing company Lyft.

In addition to kicking off development of Arene, Kuffner also has begun construction of Woven City, a living laboratory for new mobility technologies and infrastructure in the foothills of Mount Fuji outside of Tokyo.

Last month, the Woven City project, overseen by Toyoda’s son Daisuke, commemorated two years since its groundbreaking. The first phase of construction is scheduled to finish next year, with first trials starting in 2025 and an initial population of 360 residents.

“Woven’s mission is to consider, together with Toyota, the shape that mobility, including social infrastructure, should take to create a new mobility society,” Sato said.

“That is why, more than ever, Toyota and Woven will unite to accelerate the development of Arene and strongly pursue demonstration tests in the mobility test course city of Woven City.”