A broad coalition of automakers, suppliers and dealers is calling on President Donald Trump to keep Chinese cars out of the U.S., stepping up the plea ahead of a planned summit between the countries next week that could include a role for Chinese electric-vehicle giant BYD Co. In a letter to Trump that was seen by Bloomberg News, the coalition said the existing barriers that effectively ban China from the U.S. auto market are crucial to maintaining fair competition. The group outlined security risks and economic threats to the U.S. posed by subsidized Chinese automobiles and connected vehicle technology. “Allowing them to open a domestic facility would provide a foothold in the U.S. market at the expense of manufacturers operating here,” according to the letter. “Localized Chinese production will not advance the administration’s manufacturing jobs and national security agendas.” #Trump #China #Chinesevehicles #automotive #autoindustry

Toyota Group will invest ¥1 trillion ($6.42 billion) a year from 2028 to update factories for the digital age and deploy 400,000 robots worldwide, including AI-powered humanoid workers that will learn the skills of veteran workers. Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima disclosed the new strategy to investors at a Sept. 11 technical workshop held in Europe. The robot count covers 150,000 to be introduced at Toyota Motor Corp. and 250,000 at group companies, such as mega-suppliers Denso Corp. and Aisin Corp. The robots will include humanoids programmed through large behavior models to replicate the movements and skills of Toyota’s “takumi,” or master craftsmen, workers, Nakajima said. “Robots can learn human movements through cameras and sensors, enabling the transfer of master craftsmen’s skills to robots without the need to write complex software programs,” Nakajima said in his presentation. “In the future, it will be possible not only for humans to teach robots but also for robots that have learned master craftsmen’s skills to teach humans.” #Toyota #robots #robot #robotics #automotive #autoindustry