Toyota Tsusho to develop auto software in China

Toyota Tsusho Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of trader Toyota Tsusho Corp. , has set up a fully owned unit in China to develop software for vehicles, the trader said Monday.

The unit in Dalian, capitalized at 195 million yen, is Toyota Tsusho Electronics' second overseas software development foothold after one in Thailand, which was set up in 2005.

In line with the computerization of automobiles, the amount of software per vehicle is seen increasing some 10-fold by 2015 from the current level, the company said.

Through the unit, Toyota Tsusho Electronics aims to secure software engineers in China as there may not be enough in Japan and to meet diversified software needs, according to the company.