Toyota leasing unit to offer over-the-air safety updates

TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp's leasing unit said on Wednesday it will begin offering over-the- air safety updates on the new Prius, and that it can use an approach pioneered by Tesla to cut lease prices and preserve used-car values in Japan.

The lease program will require customers to opt in for a service that will bring monthly lease payments down by 10 per cent, according to Toyota's leasing affiliate.

Shinya Kotera, the president of KINTO, said that the Toyota leaser unit in Japan will update its safety features, including the collision avoidance system, for a car on the road.

Tesla has used over-the- air software updates to improve charging speed on its electric vehicles, unlock additional battery range and fix safety issues.

Kotera said Toyota's approach would focus on costs for the just-released version of the Prius, a 25 year old hybrid that the Japanese automaker sees as a pillar of its strategy even as other major automakers shift toward EVs.

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Kotera said that the customers of Tesla are high-income earners and many of them are willing to pay for new and good things, and that's why their products are a hit with that segment of the market.

Toyota's customers are not like that. They are not someone who would pay extra for a new technology. They are looking for something good, reliable and inexpensive. Toyota unveiled the Prius last month, despite criticism from ESG investors and environmental groups for its slow roll out of fully electric vehicles.

The leasing unit wants to expand the service to other vehicles within a year or two and is considering making it a global offering, Kotera said.