Toyota Motor Corp. and Dentsu Group Inc. said Wednesday they will create a new company next January to enhance the automaker's marketing and advertising in the era of social media.

The holding company will be owned 66 percent by Toyota and 34 percent by Japan's advertising giant Dentsu, and two new firms -- one mainly focused on marketing and the other on digital communications and transformation -- will come under its wings.

"Toyota believes that Dentsu, providing its knowledge and know-how related to integrated marketing communications, as well as that related to the digital domain, will drive innovation speedily forward," Toyota said in a press release.

Toyota said it is necessary to grasp the needs of customers quickly and accurately for new business.

The auto market is expected to undergo a transformation with traditional cars joined by new mobility solutions such as connected and autonomous cars.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire