Localisation is at the core of Toyota’s corportate car planning for 2017, as it aims to give fleet a more quality experience akin to retail and to stop business users feeling of secondary importance.
With currently 180 Toyota and 45 Lexus dealers, Neil Broad, general manager for Toyota and Lexus fleet and remarketing, is looking for dealers to become more integrated into fleet and offer the same level of service that is delivered to retail buyers.
“Too much of the fleet industry is about a long-distance delivery driver handing over some keys, and we have a whole invested dealer network, and we want them to become delivery points for the fleet industry where possible. It’s all about the quality of the experience,” Broad said, speaking exclusively to BusinessCar.
According to Broad, fleet can sometimes end up being considered secondary to retail when it comes to the allocation of vehicles and the processes that are put in place, but the launch of the new C-HR, Toyota’s brand new SUV, gives the brand a chance to change some of its previous approaches.
“The C-HR gives us an opportunity to learn some lessons because fleet can end up being second class to retail sometimes, in terms of allocation of vehicles and process. We’re looking to make sure that we’ve got supply for fleet bespoke for this year,” Broad said.
But it’s not only localising its fleet approach that will be a priority this year: Toyota is using all of the tools at its disposal to stay ahead of the curve and develop new technology, including its rally cars, which capture important real-world data aimed at helping deliver the autonomous cars of the future.
Feeding directly into Toyota’s Research Institute’s work, the sensors on rally cars are more advanced and capable of processing obstacles while travelling at high speeds. It’s this data that will prove invaluable when developing autonomous technology moving forwards, a technology that Broad believes will be most effective on the motorway.
“If you look at the variable speed limit on the M25, that’s like autonomous technology as it’s trying to get everyone to go at the same speed to prevent everyone doing zero. I can see a future where major routes will be controlled by that fashion, where everyone’s speedo is controlled,” he said. “You input where you’re leaving and at which junction, at which point you take the reins again. In terms of unblocking motorways, that would be the first step for me.”
Using racing as a real-life laboratory to improve the performance, handling and durability of the firm’s cars is just one of the areas of technology Toyota is concentrating on, and hydrogen power is very much part of its future too. The Mirai, launched in September 2015, is one of the first production fuel-cell cars to come to the UK and, although still sold in relatively small numbers, Toyota is confident that more vehicles are around the corner.
The aim is to sell 30,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2020 globally, although Broad admits this can only happen with the proper infrastructure in place.
“Hydrogen is another string to the bow for the future. It needs infrastructure, obviously, to make it viable,” Broad said. “In all of these things its chicken and egg – the manufacturer needs opportunity to make it scalable to get prices down. They can’t do that until the infrastructure is there and those companies want sales to invest.”
According to Broad, the only people who can bring everything together are in the Government and a consistency of message is vital moving forwards.
“The gestation period for new technology and a new vehicle is pretty long and you can’t chop and change legislatively and expect people to react at a drop of a hat. You’ve got to plan for the future to invest properly in that. There’s a lot of technology in cars these days and you can’t keep ducking about and changing parameters as it’s very hard for us to adapt to that.”
Hybrid has been part of Toyota’s DNA for the past 20 years now. The Prius alone is coming up to four million worldwide sales, and nine million hybrids, if you include Lexus, have been sold to date.
“It’s not a flash in the pan for us. We don’t believe that hybrid has had its day yet and we don’t even think it’s up to full exploitation of its benefits yet,” said Broad. “If you start looking at emissions legislation in its full, rounded sense, then hybrid has to be the right solution for now.”
Hybrid is currently 32% of sales for Toyota and Lexus; with the C-HR added to the line-up Broad is expecting this to climb past 40%. A 50/50 split is the next milestone, which is predicted to be reached by 2020.