Toyota Leads Auto Industry in Innovation, Again!

July 1, 2016 by Toyota

• No other automaker can match the number of patents issued to Toyota in 2015

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (June 30, 2016) – Whether it's creating artificial skin for pedestrian safety mannequins, helping autonomous vehicles detect and safely react to emergency vehicles or fabrics that clean themselves, Toyota leads the way in anticipating and engineering the cars of tomorrow for today.

This is the second consecutive year the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued more patents to Toyota's innovative designers and engineers than to any other automaker. This achievement is according to a recently released publication by the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO). In 2015, Toyota received 1,636 patents and over the last eight years has been awarded more patents than any other automotive company. This achievement illustrates the company's commitment to ever better cars that achieve greater safety, environmental and technological advancements.

'As companies in the automotive industry transform themselves into broader mobility providers, no auto company better demonstrates innovation and technology for the future than Toyota,' said Jeff Makarewicz, senior vice president, Toyota Technical Center (TTC), Toyota's North American research & development headquarters. 'We're focused on delivering great experiences for our customers, a cornerstone of Toyota's product commitment, and this recognition is proof we're living up to that promise.'

Toyota is the only automaker listed among the top 20 on the IPO list. Other key innovators in the top 20 include Apple, Google, IBM and Microsoft.

Toyota's industry-leading patent numbers illustrate the company's increasing success as global auto leader, but also as one of the world's leading innovators.