When you hear the name Toyota, you may first think of the reliability or quality of cars. However, we promised five years ago at this very place, this stage, to create a 'future-oriented demonstration city.'
Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Akio Toyoda spoke this way during a media conference held on the 6th, a day before the opening of the 2025 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This marks Toyoda's return to the CES stage as a speaker for the first time since the event in 2020.
On this day, Chairman Toyoda introduced 'Woven City', which Toyota is currently constructing, for about 30 minutes. Woven City is a future city that integrates advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robots, autonomous vehicles, and smart homes. He announced the start of the Woven City project at CES 2020 and used this conference to explain the progress, achievements, and goals of the project over the past five years.
Chairman Toyoda noted, 'We have completed the first phase of the Woven City project,' adding, 'From this year, residents will move in, and ultimately about 2,000 people will live in this city.' He further stated, 'Residents of Woven City will be very diverse, including Toyota employees and their families, scientists participating in the demonstration, partners from various industries, corporations, and researchers.'
Woven City is currently a space where various new technologies that Toyota is focusing on are experimented with in daily life. Eco-friendly, zero-emission autonomous vehicles, drones that assist safe return home at night, companion robots that care for the elderly, and 'flying cars' are among the technologies utilized in Woven City.
Chairman Toyoda emphasized that Woven City is not a business aimed at generating revenue. He stated, 'As a global corporate citizen, I believe we should invest in the future and share the knowledge and technology we have accumulated over a long time,' adding, 'Creating happiness for people with new ideas is precisely why Woven City was created.'
In the past, Toyota focused on introducing eco-friendly car production technologies and autonomous vehicles at CES. Chairman Toyoda explained the shift towards future cities instead of car-related technologies, saying, 'Toyota did not originally start as a car manufacturer, but as a company that wove fabric,' and 'I believe the future of mobility should not be limited to cars.'