Toyota and Lexus preview the future in Tokyo

The Tokyo Motor Show never fails to impress and by impress, I don’t mean showing off all the latest production models that will make their way to South Africa. I mean it impresses in a very quirky Japanese take-on-the-future kinda way.

This year was no different. Sure, electrification and autonomous driving are the go-to defaults around the world, but maybe not so much here at home yet. I mean, we pay Eskom billions to switch the lights off every time they get greedy and spit their dummies out to get more funding. And, honestly, can you then imagine an autonomous car trying to navigate Joburg traffic?

There is no computer engineer bright enough or any algorithm evolved enough to understand and compute vehicles barrelling into oncoming traffic, driving on the sidewalks, etc, on a daily basis.

Your autonomous car will have a nervous breakdown in the first few days and then pop up that dreaded blue screen of death. And if you could somehow overcome this little South Africanism, can you imagine what would happen if you ventured into the CBD? Thanks to the pedestrians that continuously cross the road regardless of what is trying to come through the intersection, your car would simply never move and melt down once again.

The obvious question then is if this technology would ever be rolled out into a continent like Africa. The answer was quite simple and went along the lines of “Toyota and Lexus build cars suitable to all markets in the world”.

So, while places like Japan will get more electric cars with higher levels of autonomy, it will take some time before we see this happening over here on a large scale. Although I did read this week that the next generation Hilux will feature a diesel electric hybrid powerplant.

In their drive to evolve from a company that only builds vehicles, to a company that is going to be offering more mobility solutions in the future, here is a glimpse of what Toyota and Lexus showed at the Tokyo Motor Show last week.

Toyota

First up was the production-ready, ultra-compact, battery-electric vehicle (BEV) that has a range of approximately 100 km on a single charge and reaches a maximum speed of 60 km/h.

This BEV will hit the roads in Japan late in 2020. The ultra-compact, two-seater is specifically designed to meet the daily mobility needs of customers who make regular, short-distance trips such as the elderly, newly-licenced drivers or business people visiting local customers.

But, as I said, Toyota is looking to add more mobility solutions and we were shown the i-ROAD and three different “walking area” BEVs. There was a Walking Area BEV Standing Type that can be used for patrolling, conducting security checks or carrying heavy equipment around large facilities such as airports or factories.

The second was a Walking Area BEV Seated Type that provides mobility for people who are handling large amounts of luggage, or who may have difficulty walking. The third offering was the Walking Area BEV Wheelchair-linked Type that connects to manual wheelchairs by providing motorised power to them for use at large facilities and tourist locations.

The i-ROAD is a short-distance mobility solution that combines the size of a motorcycle with improved stability to support urban commuting or tourism. And just as you start to think that Toyota are being far too serious, they put the quirky part into the show when they also showed seriously fun, mobile solutions for the future that may even include riding on a broomstick!

I did enquire when the broomstick would go into production as I thought my wife might want one as a Christmas gift. She didn’t see the funny side of that comment and instead of finding a welcoming committee when I got home to the airport, I found an Uber driver waiting for me and a trip booked to the local guest house for the night.

The electrified, autonomous LQ concept car that wants to bond with its owner was shown, as was the e-Racer, a sports car for the future, to an e-Care, which is a vehicle that enables you to undergo a medical exam on your way to hospital.

Lexus

Being the more serious luxury part of the company, Lexus showed their LF-30 Electrified ahead of their planned unveiling of its first full-electric production vehicle next month. The LF-30 Electrified showed where the company is heading in terms of BEVs that also deliver a fundamental leap in performance, handling, control and driver enjoyment.

Its technology enables integrated control of the powertrain, steering, suspension and brakes to provide the ideal vehicle control regardless of the situation, including the provision of front, rear and all-wheel drive as required. The show car gives the world a peek at what the technology of 2030 is going to offer Lexus owners with its futuristic design, newly designed cockpit, steer-by-wire system and autonomous driving technologies.

It is designed to deliver a dynamic experience unlike any currently available with in-wheel electric motors and maximum outputs of 400 kW and 700 Nm and is claimed to go from 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.8 seconds. The futuristic-looking LF-30 draws on core Lexus technologies found in the popular Lexus range of self-charging hybrid-electric hybrids, including battery management, power control modules and electric motors.

As a next-generation BEV, LF-30 uses wireless charging technology to simplify daily charging, and artificial intelligence-based energy management to enable optimal distribution of electric power to both the vehicle and the home and charging control coordinated with the user’s daily schedule.

On-board artificial intelligence distinguishes the voices of vehicle occupants. It uses personalised information stored on the driver’s control key to serve as a partner. It facilitates the adjustment of elements of the interior environment, such as air temperature and audio, and the setting of navigation routes and destinations, while also making proposals for activities after arrival.

It also understands driver’s preferences and helps them control the suspension and powertrain settings in real-time according to the driving scene. By 2025, Lexus will have fully electrified versions available for all models.

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