Toyota Announces New Company Devoted to Self-Driving Cars

The move comes as Toyota nears a self-imposed deadline of 2020 for selling cars capable of piloting themselves on freeways. The company will be led by James Kuffner, now the chief technology officer at Toyota Research Institute in California. Toyota joins a string of car makers that have sought to separate their self-driving units to attract top software engineers who might not otherwise work for a traditional auto maker. Car makers have long complained that they face difficulties in attracting engineers with the appropriate software skills. Toyota is scouting for locations in Tokyo for office space and said employees of the company would speak English--another measure to widen its pool of job applicants.