Japan aims to capture a 30% share of the global market for software-defined vehicles designed to improve performance by upgrading software rather than hardware, the industry and transport ministries said on Monday.
The goal was included in a new strategy released by the ministries for software development for next-generation vehicles with advanced digital technologies.
The strategy calls on the public and private sectors to collaborate on research and development of automotive semiconductors and the standardization of SDV systems to better compete with leading U.S. and Chinese makers of self-driving and so-called connected vehicles.
The strategy estimates that global sales of SDVs will reach 41 million units in 2030 and 64 million units in 2035. The strategy sets sales targets for Japanese makers at 12 million units by 2030 and 19 million units five years later.
In addition to software development, it urges all Japanese companies across all industries to work together in capitalizing data on new services, including smart transportation, and offering such services.
When it comes to self-driving vehicle services, an experimental project for fully autonomous large truck travel will be carried out on the Shin-Tomei Expressway connecting Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture and Toyota in Aichi Prefecture at the end of March next year.
Japan will also consider setting up a company to jointly operate self-driving trucks and start testing self-driving taxis by then.
A system to share vehicle data, ranging from production to disposal, is also expected to be created over the course of the year through March 2026, as part of efforts to protect the environment.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry plans to launch a new framework to develop advanced human resources and share information with companies.
