Microsoft and Toyota partner on $12M telematics initiative

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) have struck a new deal that will leverage the Windows Azure platform in the car-maker’s next generation telematics services.
The companies plan to invest a combined $12 million in Toyota Media Service Co., a Toyota subsidiary that offers information services to Toyota customers. Toyota’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012 will be the first cars to get the new treatment. Toyota plans to build a comprehensive global cloud platform by 2015 to provide enhanced telematics services to even more Toyota customers down the line.
Toyota is also conducting trials of its Toyota Smart Center pilot program in Japan that will give customers the ability to control energy consumption at home and in the car.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the partnership highlights the company’s continued investment in the automotive industry. “It further validates the power of the cloud, as the Windows Azure platform will provide the enterprise-grade, scalable platform that TMC needs to deliver telematics in its automobiles worldwide,” he added.
“This new partnership between Microsoft and Toyota is an important step in developing greater future mobility and energy management for consumers around the world. Creating these more efficient, more environmentally advanced products will be our contribution to society,” said Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp. “To achieve this, it is important to develop a new link between vehicles, people and smart center energy-management systems.”