Toyota Opens R&D Center in Silicon Valley

Toyota Motor Corp. has opened a new research and development office in California's Silicon Valley and plans to hire about 150 employees at its Michigan technical centers this year. The expansion is part of the company's plan to localize R&D activities in North America.

The new tech center in Mountain View, Calif., will share offices with Toyota's information technology unit and focus on in-vehicle infotainment systems. The company follows Ford and Renault-Nissan, which also are opening R&D facilities in Silicon Valley to work more closely with local software programmers.

In Michigan, most of the newly hired engineers, technicians and advanced researchers will be assigned to Toyota's tech centers in Ann Arbor and Saline. They will work on powertrain, mechanical design, electrical engineering, electronics and advanced research.

Toyota also says it will add 100 jobs over the next five years to bolster the team developing engines and transmissions for the North American market.