Salesforce and Toyota will create 'Toyota Friend', a private social network for cars that will allow vehicles to communicate with its owners, and link together drivers, dealers and the manufacturer.
(Credit: Toyota)
The network will first be offered in Japan alongside Toyota's electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
The idea behind the social network is to give the car a social identity so that it can communicate its needs to the owner in a social media fashion, such as needing a service or an oil change, and also allow car owners to connect with dealers and the factory.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda said at the announcement that it was critical that the company take on a new challenge to engage younger people who were 'less inclined' to purchase cars, making them change their mind.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said, 'I want a relationship with the car in the same way that I have a relationship with other friends on the social network.'
The network would create a fundamental linking of the social networks, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or another network.
Toyota had already developed its own telematics services to connect people and cars, but Toyota Friend is aimed at extending this.
With a social connection to dealers and factories as well as the call centre and contact centre, Toyota would be able to spot quality issues quicker, and customers would be easily able to discover new features.
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