Carmakers facing crucial battle for survival: Toyota chairman

Toyota Motor believes the industry has entered a phase of "competition and coordination" that involves entities from other industries

Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, is a worried man. The chief of world’s leading automobile player has raised serious concerns about survival of automobile companies in an event of newer technological challenges such as electric mobility, automation and connected vehicles.

“The automotive industry has entered an era of profound transformation, the likes of which come only once every hundred years,” Toyoda said. He said there was no guarantee the auto manufacturers would continue to play leading roles in mobility over the next 100 years. “A crucial battle has begun — not one about winning or losing, but