TOYOTA CITY: Toyota announced last week that it has started offering an upgrade service in Japan that allows customers to upgrade their cars as part of its efforts to enhance car value.
The service is available for the Prius U Grade.
Toyota has been offering retrofitting of new equipment that was not installed at the time of purchase through Kinto Factory scheme.
This new upgrade service enables retrofitting of safety and security devices and functions previously unavailable, such as the Advanced Park feature of the Toyota Teammate advanced driving support technologies, to cars equipped with “Upgrade Ready Design”.
Upgrade Ready Design allows future devices and functions to be retrofitted by anticipating the work required for upgrades at the development stage and designing systems in advance that can significantly reduce the time required.
In addition, seven items such as a Blind Spot Monitor, Panoramic View Monitor, Parking Support Brake (rear pedestrian detection), and Steering Wheel Heater can now be retrofitted individually as upgrade menu options.
Toyota said it would expand the upgrade menus to extend the usefulness of its cars. Future upgrades could include large-screen display audio, heated seats, seat ventilation and synthetic leather seats.
Applications for the upgrade service are accepted through the Kinto Unlimited smartphone app.
Rates are standardised nationwide, and there are two payment options: a lump-sum payment or an addition to the monthly subscription fee.
Keyword: Prius owners in Japan offered upgrade service