Panasonic and Toyota Motor have agreed to set up a new joint venture related to town development, aiming to deploy IoT technologies in homes, as well as connecting cars, public transportation and other means of transportation through IT.

Both companies aim to fuse the mobility services initiatives promoted by Toyota and the "lifestyle updates" initiatives spearheaded by Panasonic through collaboration based on the establishment of the joint venture, thereby creating new value for the entire town as a whole.

A rapid change is expected in this business due to the accelerated deployment of IoT technologies in home appliances, household equipment, etc., as well as the evolution in mobility, such as CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric) and MaaS (Mobility as a Service), a new concept of providing services by connecting cars, public transportation and other means of transportation through IT.

In the housing business, in which market competition is anticipated to intensify, the two companies will reinforce the foundation of their business through the integration of their respective housing businesses.

Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic, said: "In the future, in addition to hardware, the provision of improved services supported by technology will assume a more important role in town development that provides value for customers and the local community.

“Toyota has been leading the mobility field, and Panasonic has long been serving lifestyle needs of people. We will put our respective strengths together to offer new value in everyday life. Through this collaboration, Panasonic will further challenge itself to continue advancement in the town development business, aiming to deliver the 'ideal lifestyle' for each customer."

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, said: "From here on out, information will link all items and services that support people's daily lives thanks to the development of CASE, and considering this from a broad, community-level and society-level perspective that includes cars―in other words, working from the concept of 'connected cities'―will become important. In order to realize this, I believe that it is important to have a spirit of cooperation with friends and allies, while sharing our goals regarding what kind of future we want to create.”

“I want to take on the challenge of providing a new kind of lifestyle, based on the spirit of always wanting to be better and better, while bringing together the strengths of Toyota, with its vehicle business and connected business, and Panasonic, with its home appliance business, battery business, and IoT business, and enhancing our competitiveness, with the housing business of both companies as the core,” he added.

Panasonic and Toyota aim to integrate their respective housing businesses and reinforce the foundation for such housing business in the face of severe market competition. At the same time, the two companies aim to achieve business growth in the field of town development, which is expected to continue to grow in the future, by making use of the strengths of both companies in the field.

Through the integration of the housing businesses of Panasonic Homes, Toyota Housing and Misawa Homes, Panasonic and Toyota will ensure a top-class position in the domestic housing industry with a supply of approximately 17,000 detached houses. Both companies will endeavour to reinforce the management structure and further improve profitability through expanding the scale of the business.

The joint venture will set the same ownership ratio between Panasonic group and Toyota in order to secure its autonomous management while continuing to receive support from both shareholders.

Although the joint venture is expected to be out of the scope of consolidation for Panasonic and Toyota, growth and development of the town development business through the combination of the real estate business with technology continues to be an important focus in the business strategies of both Panasonic and Toyota.

The joint venture company will further strengthen its foundation in the housing business through the integration of the housing businesses of both companies, and establish a structure which enables dynamic expansion of the town development business, which will be the core of its future growth. – TradeArabia News Service