Toyota will push the car software system by 2025, benchmarking Tesla and Volkswagen

According to foreign media reports, Toyota Motor plans to develop its own automotive software platform Arene by 2025, handling all functions from basic functions to advanced applications such as autonomous driving. Through the Arene operating system, Toyota will compete with competitors such as Tesla, Volkswagen and tech companies to set standards for the software that drives the next generation of cars.

Toyota aims to apply The Arene to its own cars by 2025. Toyota will then make the software available to subsidiaries such as Subaru, as well as to other manufacturers and startups working on electric or self-driving cars. Toyota is considering commercializing the system through a licensing model.

Arene will control basic components such as steering wheel, brakes and throttle, and manage safety systems as well as location and traffic information. All vehicles using the operating system, regardless of brand or model, can use the sharing feature. Consumers can update the system online like smartphone software, quickly improving car performance.

Engineers can develop operating systems without waiting for new hardware, and cloud integration allows teams across the enterprise to work remotely in parallel. The system also allows for simulation and virtual testing.

(Image source: Toyota)

Toyota will open Upen to other developers to encourage companies outside the industry to develop apps for autonomous driving and other features. Toyota envisions adding services for various businesses to cars as easily as downloading smartphone apps.

Toyota expects that as more users and developers join, Arene will become a more practical and effective platform, generating more data that can be used to create new services.

In the automotive software space, Toyota faces competitive pressure from Volkswagen and Daimler. Volkswagen is working on its "vw.os" automotive software operating system, while Daimler plans to launch the MB.OS operating system in its own cars in 2024. GM is also developing an operating system that can be updated instantly via the Internet and plans to invest $35 billion in the system by 2025.

Tesla is developing software and systems to achieve its goal of fully autonomous vehicles. Like Toyota, Tesla intends to sell its own software and systems to other companies. Tech companies such as Apple and Google are trying to introduce business models that have been successful in the smartphone space to the automotive industry. Apple is rumored to be working on a self-driving car.

Competition for car companies to add value to cars has shifted from hardware such as traditional engines and gears to software that controls them. Lux Research, a technology innovation research and consultancy, predicts that by 2030, electronics and software will account for 50% of the cost of cars, up from 20% in 2000.

Toyota hopes to increase the percentage of software professionals recruiting engineering graduates to 40%-50% this spring from the previous 20%. Although Toyota has yet to say how much it will invest in software development, it seems to be tilting further in that direction and plans to hire 18,000 employees in the field.