Japan’s leading automakers are expected to spend a record $25.5 billion on research and development in the 2017 fiscal year.
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, R&D costs for Honda, Suzuki and Subaru will all reach record highs this year while Toyota and Nissan will maintain their record levels from 2017. What’s more, Mitsubishi’s research and development outlays are expected to climb by 20 per cent this year.
Toyota, the world’s second largest automaker, will spend over 1 trillion yen ($8.96 billion) in fiscal 2017 for the fourth year in a row. This comes despite falling operating profits and the company slipping behind Volkswagen in its fight against Volkswagen to be the world’s largest carmaker. A significant proportion of Toyota’s R&D investments will go towards connected cars, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Speaking about this, Toyota president Akio Toyoda said “Rather than giving short-term profit the top priority, we will steadily and continuously invest in the future.”
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