On 31 July 2023, Toyota announced that it would change the name of Toyota Motor Engineering Centre (China) Limited (TMEC), located in Changshu, to Toyota Intelligent Electric Vehicle R&D Centre (China) Limited (IEM by TOYOTA), and that it would review its development structure by assigning engineers from its joint venture development bases with China FAW, Guangqi and BYD. The company also announced a review of its development structure, including the introduction of engineers from its joint venture development bases with FAW, Guangqi and BYD in China into the development projects led by IEM by TOYOTA. Toyota is finally moving to strengthen its development structure in China. By putting the word ‘intelligence’ in front of electric vehicles, it can be said that the company has understood where the surge in sales of new energy vehicles from Chinese OEMs is coming from.

Toyota is now under pressure to find a way to absorb the product planning, development and other know-how of Chinese OEMs in a short time, as VW did with its decision to partner with Chinese start-up company Xiaopeng (Xpeng), but it seems that Toyota needs to rebuild its development system, including its headquarters, and its local development system in China. The report also focuses on the management strategies, production systems, sales strategies and alliance trends of major Chinese car manufacturers and parts suppliers, as well as areas such as the NEV market, automated driving and digital cockpits, where China is ahead of other countries.