Toyota FTEV charges into future

And their take on the first of those is on the floor at Tokyo motor show in the form of the FTEV II, the second iteration of their FTEV electric city car concept.  The car giant intends to introduce vehicles based – more or less – on the FTEV design into the US market by 2012, project manager for research and development Yutaka Matsumoto says.

“Toyota has more than 10 years’ experience in electric vehicle development,” he points out.  “But there are still further challenges … cruising range, cost, charging time and infrastructure must be addressed.”

Development in lithium-ion battery technology mean the FTEV II has a range of about 90km, and can travel at 100km/h.  The tiny car surprisingly can carry four people -- although the fourth could be no larger than a child – and looks usably roomy, aided by a large amount of glass and the large opening of the sliding electric door.

Steering is joystick-controlled fly-by-wire in a space-age cockpit area, and while the concept design has aimed for the motor show ‘wow’ factor, some of this technology is tipped to make its way into future cars.  Would we drive one of these? Well, yes … it’s very similar to the iQ in style, although a little smaller. And it offers more space and style than a Smart.

But the feature of the FTEV II that really shines at the moment is not the spaced-out design, or even the electric drivetrain.  It’s the large see-through lights at the back. There’s no info about how they affect the strength of the rear, but the ability to offer vision through a wide pillar has to be a winner.