Toyota Unveils New Avalon with AI-Based Assistant Functions

Detroit, Jan. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> unveiled the new version of its flagship Avalon full-size luxury sedan featuring artificial intelligence-based assistant functions at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday. It is the first Toyota passenger car to have such functions. The new Avalon, to be released in the United States in spring, is equipped with Alexa, an AI-based voice-controlled assistant system developed by U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. The system enables device connectivity, allowing drivers to unlock the doors, start the engine and check the fuel levels by speaking to their smartphones with a dedicated app. The new Avalon is powered by a fuel-efficient 3.5-liter V6 engine or a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid system with a 650-volt electric motor. Apple Inc.'s CarPlay platform is standard on all grades of the new Avalon, a first for a Toyota car. It allows drivers to operate their smartphones with a touch screen or by voice, making calls, sending or receiving messages and listening to music, for example. Compared with the conventional Avalon, the new model features lower vehicle height, more streamlined design and more spacious interior made possible by enlarged vehicle body. Toyota aimed to enhance the model's user-friendliness also by introducing a 9-inch touch panel. "We brought the Avalon's luxuriousness into the next level," a senior Toyota official said. Also unveiled at the Detroit motor show were a prototype sport-utility vehicle of Honda Motor Co.'s <7267> Acura luxury brand and a concept model of Nissan Motor Co.'s <7201> Infiniti luxury brand. END