At an exclusive function held recently at Toyota showroom, Wattayah, The 5 Continents Drive was flagged off, in the presence of members of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team.
In attendance were Mr. Yugo Miyamoto, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Regional Office, Mr. Saud Mohammed Bahwan and members from Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan.
Following the success of its expedition in Australia, America, Europe and Africa, TOYOTA’s GAZOO Racing arrived in Oman for the final stage of its 5 Continents Drive project in Asia, which started in the Middle East.
The 5 Continents Drive was introduced to help everyone at Toyota to develop exciting vehicles that customers will love and which would exceed their expectations. The seven-year project taking place on an unparalleled scale has the power to unite all of Toyota’s 370,000 members around the world and has now covered four of the world’s continents, since its launch in 2014.
Sharing his thoughts on the 5 Continents Drive, Mr. Yugo Miyamoto said, “The 5 Continents Drive is an activity that is based on Toyota’s firm belief of Genchi Genbutsu, which means going to the actual site to gather first-hand facts. The 5 Continents Drive started in 2014 when a team of skilled drivers from Toyota’s R&D divisions visited Australia to drive our cars, both on and off roads, in urban and in remote areas. They experienced the culture, met customers to understand the actual requirements that needed to go into the development of our products. We believe the Oman trip will enable us to not only see the beautiful scenery of Oman but also understand the vast usage conditions of our vehicles.”
Toyota, is an exciting brand that is passionate about building better cars. And the result of that passion is what consumers enjoy. Over the years Toyota has built a reputation for engineering strengths. And have put that to the test by participating in challenging and demanding motorsports events across the world. The 5 Continents Drive Middle East event is one such activity conducted by Toyota Gazoo Racing and its partners.
At the 5 Continents Drive, members consisting of Toyota’s employees and Saud Bahwan Automotive drove across Oman’s diverse and wide-ranging roads while experiencing first-hand the harsh conditions in which vehicles are used daily by Toyota’s customers.
Driving across a variety of harsh, unpaved roads beset by severe unevenness, sharp stones, corrugated road surfaces, and desert, the team was made to recognise the value of reliability, durability, and comfort. These circumstances impressed upon the team the importance of braking performance, high-speed stability, and power and torque.
“Roads train people, and people make cars”; that ethos has been the backbone of the 5 Continents Drive project. It is about enabling employees to get out from behind their work desks to feel the road, to experience first-hand how vehicle performance is impacted by the wide variety of driving conditions around the world and to gather new insights. By connecting with customers in a meaningful way and listening to their feedback, Toyota can better understand their needs and usage patterns.
Reinforcing motorsports’ pivotal role in the development of future vehicles, the 5 Continents Drive project is being run under the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing umbrella, the global brand for Toyota’s motorsport operations. Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, once said that motorsports are vital to the evolution of car making and the entire auto industry.
This belief has been passed down over the generations and embodied most recently as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. It represents the company’s commitment to overcoming every limit in the pursuit of creating ‘ever-better’ cars through motorsports. The learnings and insights gathered at the very limits of performance are transferred into benefits for everyday driving
The long-term continuous human resources development project commenced in Australia in 2014, then moved to North America in 2015, Latin America in 2016, Europe in 2017, and Africa in 2018. Since the project started, 556 members from inside and outside Japan have covered a total of 99,600 kilometres over a period of 399 days. The project sees the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 as a milestone, and will endeavour to continue its activities until this major event takes place.
In Oman Toyota’s outstanding range of vehicles is brought to you by Saud Bahwan Automotive.
