Toyota at JMS
“We want to create a better future.” This sounds like an ambitious goal, but Koji Sato (President & CEO and Board Member of Toyota Global) said this with conviction as I listened to his speech during the Toyota Booth opening at the Japan Mobility Show (JMS) in Tokyo.
While “better” is a subjective word, Toyota paints a clear picture of what a better future for mobility will look like. It is a future created with electrification, intelligence, and diversification.
Electrification is Toyota’s track to a carbon neutral future. Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries will not only be a crucial component of cars, but it will also influence the way Toyota designs cars. Cars will be smaller, lower, and lighter to achieve better range with EV batteries while enhancing driving experience.
Intelligence will allow cars to provide more value or complement lifestyles. Apps can make the cars serve a variety of functions such as a place to watch entertainment, do shopping, or a platform to share electricity to a power grid. Toyota’s new software platform (called Arene) will use vehicle data to develop more solutions for meeting customers’ needs.
Diversification is at the core of Toyota’s future mobility, recognizing that there are as many diverse needs as there are the number of people in this world. Toyota takes diversity to a new level by enabling hardware expandability and customization. The “IMV 0,” which will soon launch in Asia, is a truck that can be modified for various purposes such as a mobile café, an enclosed container truck, or any other form to suit a user’s lifestyle. Taking after the name of configurable shipping containers used in Toyota car plants called “Kayoibako,” this Kayoibako concept inspired Toyota to develop cars that connect people and society. Sato-san helped us visualize how Kayoibako meets diverse needs. A person’s Kayoibako can be used for livelihood (such as a delivery truck with a software that allows for efficient tracking of orders and drop-offs), and on weekends, transform into a camping amenity.
A mobility future full of diversity was evident in Toyota’s display at JMS. Concept cars ranged from EV sports cars, SUVs, a Vellfire spacious lounge concept, and Kayoibako concepts. Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, also showcased various forms of mobility solutions such as all-terrain vehicles in addition to an eye-catching LF-ZC Concept EV.
Beyond the Toyota and Lexus booths, the future of mobility exhibits in other areas of JMS reveal the extent of Toyota’s mobility solutions.
Toyota’s mobility innovations include logistic solutions. I watched a compact drone helicopter deliver a package by air, land in an automated landing pad which handed-over the package to a robot that delivered the package by land to a café staff. This seamless connection among machines, robots, and people gives us a glimpse of incredible possibilities. Packages can be delivered to remote areas, or with speed and efficiency that doesn’t contribute to traffic congestion.
The range of mobility solutions are as vast as the diverse needs that exist such as applications for livelihood and commerce, rescue operations, recreation, or handicap facilities.
A Toyota “mobile toilet,” bearing the logo “mobility for all,” features a foldable ramp and a spacious, fully equipped toilet and sink that is designed to be accessible to handicapped people. A RAV-4 is modified to be a “Mountain Rescue” vehicle with customized shelves and storage for protective and rescue equipment.
The Toyota Autonomous “e-Palette” mobile store can pickup fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers and then make stops along the way, so that people from different areas can ride the e-Palette, buy fresh produce or a smoothie, and pay for their purchase using an App that integrates with e-Palette. Impressively, the App also provides recipes on the smoothies so that people can replicate their favorite smoothie and learn about the nutrition information of the ingredients. This mobility solution goes beyond delivering goods from one point to the other and enhances the concept of “farm to market.”
A unique proposition in Toyota’s mobility solutions is how it ties with the theme of JMS: “Find your Future.”
“Kayoibako,” or the ability to customize or configure mobility platforms to suit an individual’s unique needs, highlights the belief of Toyota, as expressed by Sato-san: “The future is not decided by someone else. The future is something we all create.”
Looking at the values that Toyota’s mobility solutions promote—autonomy and self-determination; inclusivity and diversification and carbon-neutrality—we come to understand why Toyota is promising a better future for mobility.
