January Toyota It said its mobility software subsidiary “Woven by Toyota” is investing $44 million in Japanese rocket maker Star Technology. Competitors Honda Reusable rockets have been being developed since 2019 to push low-Earth orbit satellites into space. Chinese automaker Geely Holding Group, Tesla Competitors have invested $326 million to build their own satellites.
“What are these satellites going to be used for? They’ve been used?” said Micah Walter-Range, president of consulting firm Caelus Partners. “Some of them are for improving the navigation services of cars. Some of them are for mapping. If you consider what is needed on the road with self-driving cars, it is very valuable to fully recognize what is happening on the road.”
Today, cars use satellite connections for tracking and location, software updates and entertainment like satellite broadcasts. But as cars become more connected, automakers need infrastructure to make this move possible. That’s where satellites and rockets need to launch them. A recent report estimates that by 2030, connected vehicles could be $742 billion in annual revenue opportunities for automakers and suppliers.
“In the smartphone world, apple “From a single device sales to other services that can be offered throughout the life of that device,” Walter-Range said. “So, for a car, it’s the same deal. You know, once that car is sold, will you get an additional source of revenue by providing the service? Some of these services can be delivered from space.”
One model is to charge for advanced driver assistance systems. General Motors‘Super Cruise uses cameras, sensors and real-time locations as well as data from GPS satellites to enable the vehicle to automatically turn and keep the car in the lane. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report that the company expects Super Cruise to generate about $2 billion in annual revenue over the next five years.
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