Toyota to Exhibit at 12th World Congress on ITS in U.S.

Tokyo ― TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today that it will exhibit at the 12th World Congress on ITS to be held from November 6 to November 10 in San Francisco, California, under the organization of the San Francisco Organizing Committee for the World Congress on ITS. TMC will be exhibiting under the theme "Drive ITS Dreams", to explain, in easy-to-understand terms, Toyota's ITS activities in the areas of "Safety", "Environment" and "Comfort".

In order to demonstrate ITS functions in a clear manner, the i-unit, a futuristic concept vehicle that drew much attention at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan, will be exhibited, and a vision of a future ITS society will be presented via computer graphics images and other media. An ITS car fitted with the latest ITS technology developed by TMC will also be on display, in order to provide concrete examples of the links between vehicles and ITS.

TMC will also participate in the conference's planned addition of a large outdoor test drive event, the Innovative Mobility Showcase. At the event, TMC will demonstrate, for the first time in the United States: a brake-control version of its Pre-crash Safety System―a system that calculates in advance when a collision is inevitable and minimizes damage, and Intelligent Parking Assist, which aids in adjacent and parallel parking. Participants will have the opportunity to ride in and experience vehicles outfitted with these technologies.

TMC has consistently worked energetically toward propelling the development of transport systems through ITS and fulfilling the goal of building advanced-function automobiles, and has participated in the ITS World Congress since its inception, displaying its latest ITS technology.

The World Congress on ITS is the world's largest and most influential ITS-related international conference, and is held every year in rotation in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas. ITS-related groups (government and research bodies and commercial enterprises) use sessions (centered on research papers), exhibitions and technical tours from a wide range of countries and regions to present and display the latest in ITS research findings and products.

Last year, the 11th World Congress was held in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture and initiated the concepts of "public participation" and "experiential participation", as well as being a very well received event, bringing in around 61,000 visitors. By planning events such as the Innovative Mobility Showcase, this year's conference will incorporate those same concepts.