Toyota opens Woven City test site near Mt. Fuji

Toyota has opened the first phase of Woven City, a 47,000-square-meter experimental town at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Susono, Shizuoka, designed as a living laboratory for autonomous driving, AI, delivery robots and small electric mobility vehicles. The site features roads shared by pedestrians and personal electric mobility, dedicated lanes for self-driving cars, sensor-equipped traffic lights, underground logistics infrastructure and smart homes, and is hosting demonstrations including electric scooters, delivery/parking robots and a nursery school. About 300 Toyota-linked people are expected to move in during the first phase, and Toyota says resident data will be collected with consent to help refine services. Toyota plans major expansion — company statements reference a second phase of more than 180,000 square meters and later buildouts approaching nearly 300,000 square meters — with more than 2,000 residents planned and public access slated from fiscal 2026. The project involves partnerships with non-automotive firms such as Nissin, Daikin, Zoshinkai and Interstellar and is being used to test coordination between infrastructure and vehicles and to develop new services, though observers note uncertainty over costs, purpose and the timeline to commercial results.