Avinash Balachandran, Vice President of Toyota Research Institute (TRI), joins us in the Press Lounge at MOVE 2026 to discuss Toyota’s collaborative autonomous vision, exploring the importance of a customer-led approach and strategic partnerships in navigating a complex and evolving industry.
Avinash sheds light on TRI’s focus on global dialogue, advocating for collaborations that prioritize understanding real-world driver needs from the earliest stages of design and innovation. While the industry frequently concentrates on fully replacing human drivers with robotaxis, he champions an alternative pathway for scaling vehicle intelligence. As the world’s largest automaker by volume, Toyota is leveraging autonomy to elevate consumer experience immediately, integrating advanced AI assistance systems that actively keep drivers safe on roads where driverless networks do not yet exist.
Reflecting on the key benefits of autonomous deployment, Avinash highlights the importance of safety, describing intelligent transportation as the intersection of customer value and human amplification. Rather than replacing human agency, TRI’s core philosophy draws on a century-old heritage of developing technology that works in tandem with people, using a “human-centred” AI approach.
Avinash reflects on the ways in which autonomous capabilities are redefining the limitations of vehicles, presenting a future where our cars become a place to rest, socialise and work. As our conceptions of vehicles as a means to travel from point-A-to-point-B opens up, driving moves from a solitary task into a deeply collaborative, social experience.
Watch the full interview with Avinash Balachandran below.
