Toyota unveils new concept of self-driving electric vehicles

Tokyo, January 9: The giant Japanese automobile company Toyota has unveiled a new concept of self-driving electric vehicles. Companies involved in ride-hailing or package delivery will find those future cars beneficial.

The company is also willing to start road-testing the vehicles in the U.S. in the early 2020s. This "marks a major step forward in our evolution towards sustainable mobility, demonstrating our continued expansion beyond traditional cars and trucks," Tokyo President Akio Toyoda said.

Earlier it planned to start an all-electric vehicle in China in 2020 and expand to other markets including Japan, India and the United States. It will increase the number of battery electric vehicle models to more than 10 in the first half of the 2020s. Investment for development of batteries is likely to exceed $13 billion (1.5 trillion yen) through 2030. Moreover, it plans to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell cars in the 2020s.