TOYOTA CITY, Japan -
Microsoft Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. announced Thursday that they have forged a strategic partnership and plan to build a global platform for TMC’s next-generation telematics services using the Windows Azure platform.
 
Telematics is the fusing of telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles; it can encompass GPS systems, energy management and other multimedia technologies, officials explained.
 
As part of the partnership, the two companies plan to participate in a 1 billion yen (approximately $12 million) investment in Toyota Media Service Co., a TMC subsidiary that offers digital information services to Toyota automotive customers.
 
The two companies will be helping to develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform, which includes Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Azure. The work will start with TMC’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
 
TMC revealed its goal is to establish a complete global cloud platform by 2015 that will provide affordable and advanced telematics services to its customers around the world.
 
As part of its smart-grid activities, aimed at achieving a low-carbon society through efficient energy use, TMC is conducting trials in Japan of its Toyota Smart Center pilot program, which plans to link people, automobiles and homes for integrated control of energy consumption, according to officials.
 
TMC apparently believes that as electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles become more popular, such systems will rely more on telematics services for achieving efficient energy management.
 
Microsoft has a long history of delivering platforms and services to the automotive market, including in-car infotainment systems built on the Windows Embedded Automotive platform, in-car mapping services with Bing and the Microsoft Tellme voice application, and many other consumer solutions.
 
"Today’s announcement of our partnership with TMC is a great example of how we continue to invest in the automotive industry and of our commitment to power the services that are important to consumers," said Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer.
 
"It further validates the power of the cloud, as the Windows Azure platform will provide the enterprise-grade, scalable platform that TMC needs to deliver telematics in its automobiles worldwide,” he continued.
 
Akio Toyoda, president of TMC, added, "This new partnership between Microsoft and Toyota is an important step in developing greater future mobility and energy management for consumers around the world. Creating these more efficient, more environmentally advanced products will be our contribution to society. To achieve this, it is important to develop a new link between vehicles, people and smart center energy-management systems."
 
Toyota Sells 1 Millionth Prius
 
The United States arm of Toyota announced Thursday that its dealers have now sold 1 million Prii in the country.
 
This is the third milestone for Toyota’s hybrid lineup in the last six months that started with the announcement of worldwide Toyota Prius sales topping 2 million in October 2010 and overall global Toyota hybrid sales passing 3 million last month.
 
“Since the Prius went on sale 11 years ago not a year has gone by when it hasn’t been the number one selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager.
 
“Prius has become synonymous with the word hybrid and as we see fuel prices starting to rise again, it has accounted for more than 60 percent of hybrid passenger car sales so far this year. Prius paved the way for hybrids and, while it is still the hybrid leader in sales and fuel economy, I’m proud to say that since its introduction, 13 other auto brands have seen the benefits of hybrid technology and joined the hybrid market,” he continued.
 
The third-generation Prius topped the EPA’s list of the Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles for 2011, officials boasted. They went on to point out that it has been named the Best Overall Value of the Year for the last nine years in a row by IntelliChoice, and has the highest owner loyalty of any midsize vehicle for four of the last five years according to R.L. Polk. More than 97 percent of all Toyota Prii sold since 2000 are still on the road.
 
Since it was introduced in the U.S. in 2000, Prius, when compared to the average car, has saved American consumers more than an estimated 881 million gallons of gas, $2.19 billion in fuel costs, and 12.4 million tons of CO2 emissions, according to Toyota management.
 
In January 2011 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota debuted the Prius v, the first vehicle to be debuted as part of the Prius family marketing strategy. Prius v, which goes on sale in third quarter of 2011, is a midsize vehicle that provides more than 50 percent additional interior cargo space than the current Prius.
 
In early 2012, the Prius will launch two more family members — the Prius c compact hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle.