James Kuffner, the chief executive of Toyota Motor‘s autonomous driving technology unit Woven by Toyota, has announced his decision to step down from his role effective October 1st, as disclosed in a statement by the subsidiary on Thursday.
Kuffner, who had initially joined the Toyota Research Institute in 2016, subsequently took on key responsibilities within the automaker, serving as its chief digital officer and as a board member. However, he departed from his board position in June of this year.
Following his resignation from the position of chief executive at Woven by Toyota, Kuffner is set to assume the role of a senior fellow at Toyota Motor, the world’s largest automaker in terms of sales, beginning in October, as per the official statement.
Hajime Kumabe is designated to take on the role of chief executive at Woven by Toyota, succeeding Kuffner. This appointment is contingent upon approval by the unit’s board, as indicated in the statement.
Kumabe presently holds a prominent position as the top executive at J-QuAD Dynamics, an enterprise specializing in automated driving, established in April 2019 through collaboration between Denso, Aisin, and two other suppliers to Toyota.
Toyota’s establishment of Woven Planet in 2021 marked a significant move towards its primary objective of investing in and advancing mobility solutions with the integration of artificial intelligence.
Woven Planet, in addition to its core mission, is actively involved in the development of an automotive software platform known as Arene. Concurrently, it is working on the construction of a testing site named Woven City, situated in Shizuoka prefecture to the west of Tokyo. This facility is intended for the testing and validation of mobility-related systems and services.
