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Toyota aims to open its futuristic city near Mount Fuji this year

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Toyota Motor plans to move in the first 100 residents of a futuristic city at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan by as soon as this fall.

The initial residents of Woven City will be composed mostly of the carmakerтАЩs own employees and their families, and will gradually expand to about 2,000 residents as part of its initial phases, Toyota said Monday.

“This year, residents will begin moving in as we slowly bring Woven City to life,тАЭ Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said at a news conference at CES in Las Vegas. “We aim to accelerate the pace at which new technologies can be tested and developed at Woven City.тАЭ

Toyoda debuted plans for the “living laboratoryтАЭ five years ago as ToyotaтАЩs then-president, saying then it would be a fully sustainable city and real-world showcase for artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, self-driving cars and smart homes.

But it wonтАЩt be open to the wider public for at least two years, and ToyotaтАЩs chair said it may never be profitable.

“Will this Woven City make Toyota any money? Well, maybe not,тАЭ Toyoda said. “As global citizens, I believe Toyota has a responsibility to invest in our collective future.тАЭ

A key part of ToyotaтАЩs broader Woven initiative is a new software platform and vehicle operating system it calls Arene, which is designed to speed up car development and lower costs. It plans to deploy the system this year and make it a core component of its next-generation EVs starting in 2026.

Toyota appointed a new head of the wholly owned Woven subsidiary in 2023 as part of a shift from a research-heavy focus to become more involved in the production of next-generation vehicles.

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