Private Toyota Friend social network lets owners talk to their cars and each other

Toyota is launching a social-networking service that will enable owners to engage in verbal dialogue with their Toyota cars. They can share the exchanges in the network and broadcast them via Facebook and Twitter.

According to the Associated Press, Toyota is teaming up with U.S. Internet company Salesforce.com in San Francisco and Microsoft to launch the service, which it is calling Toyota Friend.

A Tokyo showroom demonstration showed a plug-in Prius owner receiving a cell phone reminder from his Prius--named “Pre-boy”--to remember to recharge his car overnight. When he plugged it in to recharge, the car said, “The charge will be completed by 2:15 a.m. Is that OK? See you tomorrow.”

The owner could choose to share the exchange with other Toyota Friend users and to make it public on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.

The service works on open-source cloud platforms from Salesforce.com and Microsoft. It will launch in Japan in 2012 and later become available worldwide, first with electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Toyota is spending $5.5 million on the project. Microsoft is investing $4.1 million, and Salesforce.com is footing $2.8 million.

“I hope cars can become friends with their users and customers will see Toyota as a friend,” Toyota president Akio Toyoda said.

Full press release below.

Salesforce.com and Toyota Form Strategic Alliance to Build 'Toyota Friend' Social Network for Toyota Customers and Their Cars

Toyota Friend to Be Powered by Salesforce Chatter

TOKYO, May 23, 2011—Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM] and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) [NYSE: TM] announced today that they have formed a strategic alliance to build “Toyota Friend”, a private social network for Toyota customers and their cars. Toyota Friend will be powered by Salesforce Chatter, a private social network used by businesses, and will be offered, first in Japan, initially with Toyota’s electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV) due in 2012.

Toyota Friend will be a private social network that connects Toyota customers with their cars, their dealership, and with Toyota. Toyota Friend will provide a variety of product and service information as well as essential maintenance tips, creating a rich car ownership experience. For example, if an EV or PHV is running low on battery power, Toyota Friend would notify the driver to re-charge in the form of a “tweet”-like alert. In addition, while Toyota Friend will be a private social network, customers can choose to extend their communication to family, friends, and others through public social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. The service will also be accessible through smart phones, tablet PCs, and other advanced mobile devices.

Regarding the alliance, salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff said:

“Toyota and salesforce.com share a vision to take the auto industry into the future. Social and mobile technologies will transform the car ownership experience, and we are excited to be Toyota’s partner in this transformation.”

TMC President Akio Toyoda said:

“Social networking services are transforming human interaction and modes of communication. The automobile needs to evolve in step with that transformation. I am always calling for Toyota to make ever-better cars. The alliance that we announce today is an important step forward in achieving that goal.”

Salesforce.com is a fast-growing enterprise cloud computing company that has been in operation for more than 12 years. The company has nearly 100,000 customers worldwide, including large enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, and government organizations. The company’s social, open, and mobile technologies represent the next generation of enterprise cloud computing.

To date, TMC has developed its own telematics services to connect people, cars and their surroundings. Through Toyota Friend, TMC aims to offer its telematics services worldwide. Moving forward, TMC plans to advance toward the realization of future mobility by teaming up proactively with global IT companies.

Although TMC and salesforce.com will launch their partnership with the building of Toyota Friend, in the future the companies plan to develop cloud services for TMC’s open platform and create new business opportunities leveraging their respective strengths.

Salesforce.com and TMC will each make investments in Toyota Media Service Co. (TMS), which oversees TMC’s global cloud platform development. Salesforce.com will invest 223 million yen and TMC will invest 442 million yen. Microsoft Corporation, which on April 6 announced a strategic partnership with TMC to build a global platform for next-generation telematics services, will invest 335 million yen.

By Michelle Koueiter