Toyota has launched a dedicated robotics division to accelerate development and commercialization of advanced robotic systems and to avoid falling behind global competitors, Bloomberg reported.

Takefumi Shiga, Toyota's chief production officer, will lead the new unit. Appointing one of the companys most senior production executives signals a serious intent to convert vehicle-manufacturing and motion-control expertise into a new generation of industrial and humanoid robots.

The centralized structure is intended to speed commercialization of automated systems and to deploy robots in production lines and other operational environments.

Toyota is not the first automaker to expand into robotics: Hyundai has made robotics a core growth area through ownership of Boston Dynamics, and Chinese automaker BYD has recently increased heavy investments in robotic systems, Bloomberg added.