Toyota is reaching for the stars. In 2024, the Japanese OEM created great waves in the NASCAR Cup Series season. Tyler Reddick drove the No. 45 Toyota to three victories and came close to winning the championship. Besides, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers like Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell won several races. Now, it seems the company is growing wings to fly off the world’s limits.
Toyota’s interests scale beyond just earthly automobile transport and racing. In 2019, Toyota’s collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) commenced, focusing on developing a lunar rover. It was to be used as part of NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon. Now, the automaker is taking a step ahead – to match even the likes of Elon Musk.
Toyota looks to skyrocket to the top!
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Everyone is familiar with Elon Musk. The head of automotive giant Tesla, Inc. Space Exploration Technologies, more commonly known as SpaceX, is Musk’s sister company to Tesla. The space exploration industry is rapidly growing and becoming more competitive, with major players like Musk’s company leading from the front. However, Toyota is accepting that challenge. The move aligns with the Japanese government’s efforts to support the growth of the country’s private space industry. The Land of the Rising Sun made three space launches in 2023. Moreover, they aim to reach a goal of 30 annual launches by the first half of the 2030s. Sounds promising doesn’t it?
Now Toyota is helping to inch closer to that goal. The automotive brand is investing ¥7 billion ($44.4 million) in a Japanese startup, Interstellar Technologies. The end goal is to mass-produce lightweight rockets to vie with big players like Elon Musk’s venture. Through its subsidiary and research unit, Woven, Toyota will gain a seat on the startup’s executive board.
Interstellar aims to “leverage automotive industry expertise, including Toyota’s production methods, to transition rocket manufacturing into a high-quality, cost-effective, and scalable process.”
“Toyota is investing in a Japanese startup that aims to mass produce lightweight rockets and someday vie with big players for a slice of the growing commercial space industry.” – @Business https://t.co/M9sNNUa0HM
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) January 7, 2025
Toyota has already declared war on Musk’s space exploration. Chairman Akio Toyoda hinted at the IST investment in a speech at CES in Las Vegas on January 6th. He said that his company’s interest in rockets stems from a broader effort not just to innovate transportation but also to pose a threat to SpaceX.
“The future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just cars. Or just one car company, for that matter. Speaking of the sky, we’re exploring rockets, too,” Toyoda said. The Hokkaido-based IST in 2019 became the first Japanese company to send a commercially developed rocket into space.
However, Toyota’s aid to IST comes after a slew of crises in 2024.
Already a lot on its plate
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Toyota’s success as a NASCAR OEM has been apparent. Despite misgivings during its arrival in 2007, the Japanese automaker has picked up three Cup Series titles, 4 Xfinity titles, and 9 Craftsman Truck titles. In 2024, Tyler Reddick stood out as a Championship 4 competitor in the Cup Series playoffs. But this resounding success in stock car racing offers a veil on the car company’s problems in recent years.
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Japan’s biggest listed company shed nearly $30 billion, or 11%, of market value in less than two trading sessions. This led to a broader decline in the country’s benchmark Topix index.
Then a testing scandal impacted sales volumes which shrank by more than a quarter. Certification irregularities dating back to 2014 emerged in June 2024. This mishap blocked some production lines in its home market, which made up nearly a tenth of deliveries in 2023. Thirdly, the company’s adventure with electric vehicles remains a strategic problem. Purely battery-powered cars contributed to less than 2% of total sales.
While Toyota is doing good business out of selling hybrids such as models like the Prius, the electric venture is still not big enough for a revolution. And yet Toyota is looking to conquer the skies. “This is another way to expand mobility in land, sea, and air,” Hajime Kumabe, Woven’s chief executive officer said.
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Evidently, Toyota is looking to advance no matter what. Let us wait and see how its battle with Elon Musk progresses.
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Can Toyota's space ambitions truly rival Elon Musk's SpaceX, or is it just wishful thinking?
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Can Toyota's space ambitions truly rival Elon Musk's SpaceX, or is it just wishful thinking?
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