Toyota At The Tokyo Motor Show With Another Small EV

Toyota is displaying another smallish EV at this year's Tokyo Motor Show. Actually, it is a second revision of a previous concept. Not sure either one is very palatable on the streets of America, but maybe there is a market. It seems these tiny cars are made for Japanese and European markets where the distnace between cities is limited.

From Green Car Congress:

Toyota’s new FT-EV II concept. Click to enlarge.

Toyota will display a new electric vehicle concept—the FT-EV II—at the 41^st Tokyo Motor Show later this month. Toyota will also showcase the Li-ion plug-in Prius concept, and a new compact, rear-wheel drive sports car concept.

In January 2009 at the North American International Auto Show, Toyota introduced its first FT-EV concept, based on the iQ. (Earlier post.) The FT-EV II features a body even more compact than ultra-compact iQ, but that still seats four. The FT-EV II is a compact EV designed for short distances, and is based on the idea of a future mobility society in which EVs are common, and means of transport are divided according to purpose, the characteristics of the energy to be used and the status of the supply infrastructure.

The vehicle offers a top speed of more than 100 km/h (62 mph), and range on a single charge of up to 90 km (56 miles).

Drive-by-wire technology enables joystick operation of all functions including accelerator, brakes and steering wheel; ample legroom is provided by elimination of accelerator and brake pedals. The vehicle is designed with a low front cowl and auxiliary window below windshield for outstanding forward visibility; further consideration paid to safety around vehicle led to see-through LED rear combination taillights.

Electric sliding doors on both sides facilitate ingress and egress, particularly in narrow spaces.

Plug-in Prius. The Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept, which uses the first lithium-ion batteries to be used to power a Toyota-brand vehicle, is based on the third-generation Prius and will have its Japan debut at the show. (Earlier post.)

The Plug-in aims to have fuel efficiency of 55 km/L (130 mpg US, 1.8 L/100 km), CO₂ emissions of 42 g/km or less and an EV cruising range of 20 km (12 miles) or more on a fully charged battery. Approximate battery-charging times are 180 minutes at 100V and 100 minutes at 200V.