Toyota has announced the launch of Kinto, a new brand dedicated to offering mobility services to users across Europe.
Toyota says Kinto forms part of Toyota’s global vision to ‘evolve into a mobility company by providing all kinds of transportation-related services to people around the world’. It will include ride-hail services and replaces Yuko – which currently operates in several European cities.
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“Kinto is part of our strategy to grow our total European business,” said Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe. “In markets where it can be viable and sustainable, adding mobility services to our traditional business model will allow us to respond to new customer needs and meet the emerging mobility requirements of cities and regions.”
In 2018, Toyota began building the foundations necessary to prepare its European organisation for the integration of new mobility services into its existing business of making and selling cars. Toyota established two entities, a fleet management company (Toyota Fleet Mobility, based in Cologne, Germany), and a digital platform company (Toyota Connected Europe, based in London, UK).
Toyota Fleet Mobility (TFM) focuses on growing full-service leasing in the European market. It is growing organically, currently having affiliates in Spain, France and Italy, and through acquisitions. It recently acquired Inchcape Fleet Solutions (IFS) to expand its business in the UK. TFM is a joint venture between Toyota Financial Services Corporation and Toyota Motor Europe.
Toyota Connected Europe is the European subsidiary of Toyota’s technological enabler and data company. It develops and implements a range of products and services associated with connected vehicle systems, such as the Toyota Big Data Centre, as well as services within Toyota’s proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF).
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By GlobalDataThe Kinto brand will position itself as being dedicated to new ways access and use mobility and will stand for being inclusive and trustworthy, simple and effortless and sustainable.
Matthew Harrison, Executive Vice President Toyota and Lexus Sales, said: “Our new mobility brand Kinto signals that the company is more than ever determined to meet the evolving mobility needs of the customer. Toyota and Lexus are well-established automotive brands, built around reliable, quality cars.
“With Kinto, our ambition is to create an equally strong brand for mobility services – a brand that consistently delivers exceptional customer experiences, whether moving close to home or travelling in other markets. Kinto epitomises Toyota’s ambition to deliver Ever-better Mobility for All.”
The brand name Kinto is derived from the Japanese word Kintoun, or Flying Nimbus, the name of a cloud which provides on-demand transport for a famous animated character in Japan. Just like Kintoun, Kinto wants to be available every time a customer looks for easy and clever ways to move around, wherever and whenever.
Kinto-branded services will be deployed by market, according to the viability and sustainability of the business case. The initial services to be introduced in some European markets include:
- Kinto One: full-service leasing that provides ease of ownership by combining vehicle, service and insurance in a single monthly payment
- Kinto Share: a car sharing service which uses a large line-up of hybrid vehicles, available via a self-service concept, without running costs. Toyota’s existing car-sharing service, Yuko, which operates in several European cities (Dublin, Venice, Copenhagen and Madrid), will be re-branded under Kinto.
- Kinto Join: car pooling which connects people who want to share their daily commute, benefiting both employees and businesses that want to reduce their carbon footprint.
- Kinto Flex: subscription-based car leasing, offering greater flexibility and a premium experience.
Other services are being evaluated, such as ride-hailing and a multi-modal app. Services would be easily accessible via mobile apps and integrated payments.
