May 23, 2011
Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) and Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) announced today the formation of a strategic alliance to build Toyota Friend, a private social network for Toyota customers and their cars.
Toyota friend is to be powered by Salesforce Chatter; a private social network used by businesses, and will be offered initially in Japan for Toyota's electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles due out in 2012.
Toyota Friend will connect Toyota customers with their cars, their Toyota dealership, and with Toyota. The private social network will provide a variety of product and service information as well as maintenance tips, creating a rich car ownership experience. For example, if an electric vehicle is running low on battery power, Toyota Friend would notify the driver to re-charge in the form of a "tweet"-like alert.
Regarding the alliance, salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff said: "Toyota and salesforce.com share a vision to take the auto industry into the future. Social and mobile technologies will transform the car ownership experience, and we are excited to be Toyota's partner in this transformation."
Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said: "Social networking services are transforming human interaction and modes of communication. The automobile needs to evolve in step with that transformation. I am always calling for Toyota to make ever-better cars. The alliance that we announce today is an important step forward in achieving that goal."
Salesforce.com has a potential upside of 13.5% based on a current price of $146.61 and an average consensus analyst price target of $166.45.
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