Henry Ford's Model T revolutionized mobility, assembly lines and society in the early 20th century. Since then, though, it's difficult to say whether automakers have ever truly transformed themselves and the economy, or have just continued to evolve.
Toyota Motor Corp. has been trying to prove it can revamp itself. After a slew of statements in recent weeks, the Japanese car giant announced Thursday a shakeup of its board and top executive positions, to show that it can "transcend practices of the past" and survive in what it called an era of profound transformation. That came a day after Toyota's splashy $1 billion investment in Singapore's Grab Holdings Inc., the biggest-ever bet by an automaker on ride hailing.
In keeping with the theme, Toyota had already declared this year its intention to become a mobility company — a provider of futuristic devices and services that goes beyond merely making cars. Over the past few years, it has pumped out a steady stream of press releases on subjects ranging from motors that are less dependent on rare-earth materials, to clean-energy batteries like hydrogen-based fuel cell stacks, to efforts toward "mobility as a service" and connected cars. There's also its $2.8 billion research institute, a ride-sharing partnership with Uber Technologies Inc. and a pilot program with Getaround.