FUTURE MOTORING, AS WE SEE IT, FROM THE TOKYO MOTOR SHOW

Posted by Colin Hensley on October 25, 2009 in 360° approach, Green Technologies

On Wednesday I was able to spend some time at the Tokyo Motor Show, and to quote our President Akio Toyoda, it “wasn’t as lively as it used to be”. That being said, we still had quite a lot to show at the Toyota and Lexus stands. In the central area was the new electric vehicle, the FT-EV II. I was lucky enough to have an explanation from Yanaka-san, who has been involved in the development of the vehicle. Some of the key features are 90km range, 100km/h top speed and drive-by-wire technology using a joystick!, this ensures there is plenty of legroom, because there are no pedals!! I do believe that this kind of electric vehicle will be a boon in the cities, where we do lots of short journeys, back and forth work or the shops.

We could also see the second generation PHV that we were proud to have as world premiere in Frankfurt. When I look at it compared to the FT-EV II I see that PHV is basically an EV with an extended range thanks to it being a proper full hybrid. For 20km, (that’d easily get me to work and back) it drives as an EV, then takes the power from the engine, in combination with the electric motor. Here at Toyota we believe this is a really practical approach to using electricity in transport and ideally this electricity will come from renewable sources

My absolute favourites were the personal mobility devices. These include the Winglets, which are two-wheeled, “personal-transport-assistance robots” sounds cool, and looks even cooler. Just jump on, lean in the direction that you want to go, and zoom, off you glide. One day soon, I hope to have a go, and then I’ll be sure to write about it here.

Looking across the range of vehicles, all of them use different aspects of the technology that we have developed in the hybrid programmes. Motors, batteries, power control units and most importantly the software based logic to manage the use of the different sources of energy. With more than 2 million hybrids on the road, I think it’s fair to say we know exactly what needs to be done to make the best use of electricity in transportation.

P.S. At the show I also saw the new FT-86 (hachi roku) Concept, a compact rear wheel drive sports car. I thought it was a really lovely looking car, and, with its 2 litre engine, and light body, it will even have good environmental performance.

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