Toyota abandons its plans to install connected vehicle technology in the United States by 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday the shutdown of the project to install dedicated short-range communications technology on US vehicles to allow cars and trucks to communicate with each other in order to Avoid collisions.

Car manufacturers have been divided on the opportunity to use the DSRC system or use a 4G or 5G based system in the United States. The announcement of Toyota is a blow for the supporters of the DSRC.

The Japanese automaker announced its intention, in April 2018, to begin the installation of DSRC technology in 2021 "with the aim of adopting it for most of its range from here the middle of the 2020s ".

On Friday, he said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): "Unfortunately, we have not seen any significant production commitments from other car manufacturers."

The car manufacturers were allocated a spectrum section for DSRC in the 5.9 GHz band in 1999, but this was hardly used. Some FCC and cable operators want to reallocate the spectrum to WiFi and other uses. The tests lasted for years to see if the group could be shared.

DSRC proponents note that the US Department of Transportation has invested more than $ 700 million in the development of the system. The cellular option has problems, including interoperability, and is not mature enough to be deployed in the 5.9 GHz band, they said.

Toyota said Friday's decision was based on "a series of factors, including the need for increased commitment from the auto industry as well as federal government support to preserve the spectrum band of 5 , 9 GHz for DSRC ".

The risk of the tape being subjected to "harmful interference from unlicensed operations … creates a substantial and possibly insurmountable risk," the company said.

He stated that he "would continue to re-evaluate the deployment environment" and said that he remained a strong supporter of DSRC "because we think it's all about the only proven and available technology for collision avoidance communication ".

With the announcement of Toyota, it is "imperative that the FCC provide clear direction and certainty to private sector companies and road operators who are trying to create a safer environment," said the Intelligent Transportation Society of American, a group representing public, private and academic organizations. .

DSRC transmissions enable inter-vehicle and infrastructure communications and deliver accurate vehicle information up to 10 times per second, including location, speed and acceleration.

NHTSA estimated that connected vehicle technologies could eliminate or reduce the severity of nearly 80% of non-impaired driver accidents.

General Motors Co is supporting DSRC and has installed this technology on a small number of Cadillac CTS sedans sold since 2017.

In December 2016, the Ministry of Transport proposed to mandate DSRC in all new vehicles. The Trump administration has not acted on this proposal.

Last year, Heidi King, Acting Chief of the US Road Safety Administration, said the agency's previous research focused on DSRC – because it was the only technology available. "

NHTSA was "exploring other technologies," including cellular services offered by Ford Motor Co, she said.

Ford announced in January that it plans to roll out cellular vehicle technology to everything, or C-V2X, in all new US vehicle models starting in 2022.

The transport department is planning a meeting Monday with automakers and state transport officials about efforts on connected vehicles, officials said Friday.