Carmakers Morphing Into Mobility Companies To Meet Societal Needs

The Toyota e-Palette, an autonomous vehicle designed for multiple business purposes such as driverless stores, is displayed at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. Up until several years ago, car companies were, well, car companies. Except for firms like Honda, Suzuki and BMW who make cars and motorcycles, all other manufacturers focused their attention on building safer, more efficient cars and crossovers. To meet the needs of a rapidly changing society with a hunger for cleaner, more efficient, more connected transport systems, firms like Toyota and Honda are making strategic diversions from their recent paths. At last January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Toyota announced its e-Palette concept, an autonomous, flexible, electric vehicle concept that can be tailored to various needs and lifestyles.