Toyota announced today that it is launching a new brand, KINTO, dedicated to offering mobility services to users across Europe. This is part of Toyota’s global vision to evolve into a mobility company by providing all kinds of services related to transportation to people around the world.
Toyota aims to grow its mobility services offer in addition to traditional private and fleet vehicle sales through a strategy organised around four pillars:
- Use a distinct and dedicated brand to appeal to new categories of mobility users, from individuals to corporate clients as well as cities;
- Increase its share of the full service leasing (FSL) market, which consists of providing multi-brand all-in-one vehicle and services offers to corporate and individual customers;
- Use the power of data and vehicle connectivity to develop and launch services like car sharing, carpooling, or subscription where viable;
- Prepare to integrate future advances in automated driving to market-test automated mobility-as-a-service transport, for example using the e-Palette concept currently under development at global level.
“KINTO is part of our strategy to grow our total European business. In markets where it can be viable and sustainable, adding mobility services to our traditional business model will allow us to respond to new customer needs and support cities and regions’ emerging mobility requirements.” Dr Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe
In 2018, Toyota started building the foundations necessary to prepare the European organisation to integrate new mobility services into its existing business of making and selling cars. Toyota established two entities, respectively a fleet management company (Toyota Fleet Mobility, based in Cologne, Germany) and a digital platform company (Toyota Connected Europe, based in London, UK).
- Toyota Fleet Mobility focuses on growing its Full-Service Leasing in the European market. TFM is growing organically (with current affiliates present in Spain, France and Italy) and through acquisitions. It recently acquired Inchcape Fleet Solutions (IFS) to grow its business in the UK market. TFM is a joint-venture between Toyota Financial Services Corporation and Toyota Motor Europe.
- Toyota Connected Europe is the European subsidiary of Toyota’s technological enabler and data company. It develops and implements a range of products and services associated with connected vehicle systems, such as Toyota Big Data Centre, as well as services within Toyota’s proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF).
The KINTO brand will be used to clearly position the offer as dedicated to new ways to consume mobility, and will stand for “inclusive and trustworthy,” “simple and effortless,” and “sustainable.”
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: Toyota
