Toyota Motor North America announced that its Michigan-based production development teams have been modifying Indiana-produced 2022 Sienna minivans.
According to a communication from the automaker, the project involved adding a vehicle control interface to create a new vehicle platform compatible with third-party autonomous driving kits and sensors ('Autono') for use in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) applications.
The resulting vehicle is called the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS, or S-AM. The company started delivery of the completed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards - FMVSS-compliant vehicles to customers Aurora Innovation and May Mobility from the fall of 2021. FMVSS identify mandatory minimum safety performance requirements for motor vehicles and certain motor vehicle equipment in the United States. FMVSS have the goal of protecting the public by minimising traffic crashes and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes.
The demonstrations of the vehicle by these customers of various autonomous mobility services are already in progress, the company added.