Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the automotive industry was facing the most profound transformation in its history. Two primary factors were propelling a case for radical change: seamless connectivity due to rapid software development and the desperate need for environmentally friendly energy solutions. Covid-19, along with the energy crisis experienced in different parts of the world in 2021, simply accelerated this transformation.
To future-proof itself and remain on the frontier of these profound changes, Toyota – one of the world’s largest automotive companies – had committed to transforming itself from an automotive company into a mobility company. To do so, it created “Woven by Toyota” to establish a strong lead in industry transformation and innovate new technologies and software development. Daisuke Toyoda, son of Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, had been named senior vice-president of this subsidiary, and his role included executing the Woven City project, a test course for accelerating Toyota’s mobility product development. Daisuke was given the task of developing and implementing the Woven City project strategy and was determined, along with his team, to make this high-stakes living laboratory successful. By the end of 2022, Daisuke knew many important steps had already been taken in the creation of Woven City, yet as the project gained visibility and progressed beyond its conceptualization phase, important challenges had to be addressed and key choices made to bring this radically innovative project to life.