The 46th Tokyo Motor Show opens to the public tomorrow (24th October) and alongside the cute kei cars and Japan-only models are new concepts, designs and technologies that will impact around the world. Mazda’s first battery-electric car, the MX-30, and the first electrified Honda Jazz are just two set to make their presence felt in the UK soon.
Here are five more top newcomers from Tokyo 2019…
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After 15 years of hybrids, Lexus unveils its first battery-electric car in a few weeks’ time. But no, this is not it. This is a vision of Lexus’s future luxury electric model for around 2030, called the LF-30 Electrified and one of the stars at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Clearly Lexus is sticking to the concept-car shock tactics that have paid such dividends in the past. It’s a wild looking thing for sure, over 5m long with air inlets that look like they could hoover you up and a cockpit straight off a fighter jet.
How does Lexus see it all working? Via four in-wheel motors offering 536bhp for 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds, a wirelessly-charged 110kWh battery and steering by wire with full autonomous control when allowed. Oh, Lexus even says it could come with an autonomous drone – for delivering your luggage, obviously.
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Nissan has sold 430,000 examples of the all-electric Leaf since it introduced the model in 2010. The company has led the way in SUVs, too, with cars like the Qashqai and all-new Juke. But until now it hasn’t had an electric crossover – while others rush to produce exactly that. At Tokyo this year, Nissan wakes up to the fact in the shapely form of the Ariya. It is a concept but a “near-future” one destined for production when it will usher in what the company says will be “the dawn of a new era for Nissan”.
We’d better like the look, then. We do. There’s a new take on the family V-shield, so it won’t appear too much at odds with its Nissan crossover kin, while still managing the “electric car look”. The long-wheelbase, short-overhang proportions look right and the cabin is glassy and curvaceous with very raked back C-pillars. There’s a welcome simplicity to the surface treatments, too. Inside there’s a lounge-like layout with flat floor, minimalist control layout, premium design and materials, plus everything needed for an autonomous driving.
Nissan promises twin electric motors for all-wheel-drive and powerful acceleration, but so far no details of power or range. Given what Nissan has achieved with the latest electric Leaf they are surely coming at this from a position of strength.
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For Mitsubishi the future is more about plug-in hybrids than battery-electric, and given the success it has had already with the Outlander PHEV you can see why. Now it is showing us how much fun you can have with a plug-in hybrid with this chunky Tonka toy of an SUV called the MI-Tech concept.
As well as the open-air, all-terrain laughs you could clearly enjoy with this roofless, doorless, two-seater buggy, the MI-Tech does have one big surprise up its sleeve: partner to the four electric motors is not a regular petrol engine but a gas turbine. Fuelled by diesel, alcohol or kerosene, this is the power generator for the battery pack.
Mitsubishi says the whole drivetrain is light and compact – the vehicle itself is no giant – and works well with driver-assist and safety technologies to deliver a fun drive.
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Toyota is discovering battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) at last, with a two-seat urban baby car – a kind of Japanese Smart – that goes on sale in Japan this year. It’s part of a company-wide rethink of battery power that will result in a swathe of new “zero emissions mobility solutions” – look out for the electric e-Palette autonomous bus set to transport athletes around the Olympic village next year.
Of more potential interest to us is the second-generation Toyota Mirai. The big sedan is also electric but Toyota is sticking to its hydrogen guns here and instead of a plug it has an onboard fuel cell to develop the power, with the only emissions being water. The fuel cell, like the platform, is said to be all-new and a lot more powerful than before with a third more range.
The new Mirai also looks less Japanese-market to us and is said to benefit from more room, comfort and driving appeal. It is scheduled for launch starting in late 2020, initially in Japan, North America and Europe.
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And finally… there’s always a place at the Tokyo Motor Show for the slightly wacky, and this machine even has the name to suit: it’s the Suzuki Waku. Its retro looks – a bit Nissan Figaro? – certainly draw you in.
The aim was to make something exciting and friendly that can morph into different things at the press of a switch. That rear bodywork, for instance, is said to change from estate car to coupe.
For Suzuki it’s a small car that can transform so people of all generations can share in the Waku fun and excitement. Admirable aim, we’d just like to see how it works in practice…
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