Toyota is planning to build its own social network wherein car owners can get alerts regarding their cars and also get in touch with their dealers and other car owners. This social networking option will be available in Toyota's first battery-enabled cars and plug-in hybrids, which will release next year.
 
The Japanese automobile giant has teamed up with Salesforce.com to create a platform called Toyota Friend. In addition to operating as a social network, the platform will also act as a medium between owners and their cars, intimating them of charge levels on their car batteries and other vital information. The platform will be accessible on PCs, tablets, laptops, and smart phones. It will also help car owners contact dealers regarding maintenance.
 
Though this is a private social network, exclusively for Toyota car owners, it does give users the option of sharing messages on Facebook and Twitter. Like any other social networking site, users can add other Toyota owners to their lists of friends.
 
This social platform will be a joint venture of Toyota, Salesforce.com and Microsoft, with the three companies investing 442 million yen, 223 million yen and 350 million yen respectively.