Toyota Plans Research Institute Near Detroit
By Michelle Krebs April 1, 2008Toyota announced Tuesday it is establishing a North American research institute at its Detroit-area facility and plans to spend $100 million during the next four years on advanced research.
The Toyota Research Institute of North America initially will employ 35 researchers and staff in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Toyota already has a technical center, and plans to add 10 researchers this year and 20 more by 2010. Toyota hinted the institute will be used for its environmental efforts.
The automaker noted in its statement it has been pursuing Sustainable Mobility, addressing four key priorities: advanced technologies, urban environment, energy, and partnerships with government and academia.
Noboru Kikuchi, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Michigan and director of Toyota Central Research & Development Laboratories Inc. in Japan, will run the institute.
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