Toyota Motor Announces Establishment of Robotics Division "Toyota Robotics"

On November 5, Toyota Motor announced an organizational restructuring, establishing a robotics division called "Toyota Robotics" and positioning its robotics business as a core strategic segment on par with electrification. The new division is a company-direct organization and will officially begin operations in January 2027, with Executive Officer and Chief Production Officer Takeshi Shiga serving concurrently as its head. Toyota Motor stated that the purpose of establishing the division is to advance the R&D and commercialization of humanoid robotics technology and to transfer automation technologies accumulated in automobile manufacturing to robotics products. In an internal announcement, Takeshi Shiga noted that the new division will focus on key technology R&D in areas such as motion control, perception systems, and human-machine interaction for humanoid robots. Previously, Toyota's products including caregiving robots and personal mobility robots had already been piloted in the Japanese market. Companies such as Honda, Nissan, BYD, XPeng, and NIO are also laying out robotics-related businesses.