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Toyota (TM) Gears Up for Self-Driving, Talking Vehicles

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Toyota Motor Corporation (TM - Free Report) recently announced that it will start testing autonomous vehicles sometime around 2020, per a Reuters report. Moreover, it also said that it will use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to interact with drivers in order to enhance driving experience.

The Japanese automaker had unveiled the concept model in early 2017 and had committed $1 billion through 2020 to develop advanced automated driving and AI technology. The vehicle will be able to communicate with drivers and react in accordance to the habits, emotions, passions and preferences of the driver.

Per the report, the Concept-i model, a battery-run electric vehicle, which will have a cruising range of 300 kilometers on a single charge, will recognize emotions and alertness of drivers by reading their expressions, voice and actions. Utilizing the inputs from the driver, the vehicle will be able to take over driving responsibility if required. In case the driver gets too tired, the vehicle will take over the driving responsibility as well as interact with the passengers.

In fact, auto giants across the globe are tying up with technology companies and investing a lot of money to raise AI capabilities to enhance autonomous driving experience. Toyota’s move is also aimed at developing these new mobility services.

Over the past three months, shares of Toyota have slightly outperformed the industry it belongs to. The company’s shares have increased 12.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 11.7%.


Currently, Toyota carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Ferrari N.V. (RACE - Free Report) , Cummins Inc. (CMI - Free Report) and Continental AG (CTTAY - Free Report) . While Ferrari sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Cummins and Continental AG carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ferrari has an expected long-term growth rate of 14.1%.

Cummins has an expected growth rate of around 12% in the long term.

Continental has an expected long-term growth rate of 7.1%.

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