Chairman Toyoda added that, like music, cars also have stories and an emotional appeal which cannot be quantified.
Prior to Akio’s involvement in carmaking as a master driver, at Toyota the quality of a car tended to be judged by its specs.
By contrast, recent launches for new Toyota models have focused more on telling stories.
The story of the GR Yaris involved the master driver himself behind the wheel, honing the car by pushing it to breaking point, fixing, and repeating.
For the latest Prius, the story was shaped by engineers who, despite then-President Toyoda’s suggestion of a dedicated taxi model, were eager to create a more emotional experience.
Meanwhile, the 16th generation Crown’s four body variations were born out of a desire to challenge the routine model updates being made every few years.
Each of these unique stories adds to the cars’ appeal.
At the same time, cars are also industrial products that must be made uniformly. In music, on the other hand, despite the countless tunes that exist, no two songs are alike. Each is imbued with its own story.
“Every listener has their own personal stories and memories attached to each song,” noted Chairman Toyoda, emphasizing that this project is not simply about supporting the music industry, but also about learning from it. “I want to make cars connect with people on a more emotional level. I believe that Toyota has much more to learn from music.”