Toyota Motor Corporation has opened a 5.3-km country road test course which sees the completion of work on the central section of its new re...
Toyota Motor Corporation has opened a 5.3-km country road test course which sees the completion of work on the central section of its new research and development facility, named Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama, located in a mountainous area straddling the cities of Toyota and Okazaki. This section, which primarily features a winding country road test course, will begin partial operations today. Based on long experience of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which is famous throughout the world for its grueling driving conditions, Toyota has designed an exacting test course that takes advantage of local topography and features a roughly 75-meter change in elevation between its highest and lowest points, as well as a wide range of curves and corners. Around 50 people will start working at the facility today, most of whom are test drivers.
The Toyota Motor Corporation management inaugurated the new test track earlier in the week
Toyota plans to invest a total of around 300 billion yen in the new facility up to its full-scale opening in fiscal year 2023, and is continuing to acquire the necessary sites and build a wide range of test facilities. After completion, some 3,300 people should be employed at the site. Located in an open environment surrounded by greenery, the completed facility in 2023 will also include an eastern section featuring a high-speed test course and specialized courses that reproduce particular road surfaces from around the world, and a western section that includes vehicle development facilities.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda made the said, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Aichi Prefecture, Toyota City, Okazaki City and, above all, to the local residents of Shimoyama for their invaluable assistance, consideration, and cooperation over a long period of time from the concept stage to the building of Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama. With the aim of making ever-better cars, we have continued to make various efforts in "feeling the road" and "conversing with cars" through driving tests around the world, including our Five Continent Drive Project and the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race.
The new Toyota test track will see over 50 people starting work, most of whom are drivers
"Based on such experiences, we have replicated a variety of roads in the world at the new test course. In addition to conducting driving tests all over the world, and with the replication of severe driving conditions at the new test course, we intend to thoroughly hone every one of our models and develop the types of cars that epitomize the true joy of driving. As connected, autonomous, shared, and electric (CASE) technologies promise to transform the very nature of mobility, Toyota will remain true to its strength of building cars through genchi genbutsu and delivering emotional performance, and will continue to make every effort to bring a smile to the faces of our customers, regardless of the form that cars take in the future."
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