Toyota BEV Ultra-Compact, the Japanese electric prototype for urban journeys

Getting around a city by car has always been complicated, but lately it has become even more so. The usual traffic complications are compounded by the traffic restrictions in the centres of large cities. For this reason, Toyota wants to present at the Tokyo Motor Show a concept car designed for those short urban journeys that are made every day.

The Toyota BEV Ultra-Compact is exactly that: a 100% electric ultra-compact car with seating for two people, able to travel through city streets, including those where traffic is restricted. The small electric car seats two people and has a range of 100 kilometres.

It is not an excessively high figure, but in reality, a city route may not exceed 50 kilometres, so it is ideal not only for private buyers but also for sales representatives who need to make a short urban round trip every day. The top speed of this vehicle is 60 km/h, ideal for those journeys.

The possibilities of this type of vehicle have already been tested by other brands, as is the case of Renault with the Twizy, which is also ideal for this kind of urban service. Toyota has not revealed further details about the battery or the charging time, but it has confirmed that this electric model is ready to go into production and that it will reach the Japanese market during 2020.

More electric mobility solutions

But in addition, Toyota wants to move forward in the possibilities offered by electric mobility, so at the same Japanese event it has launched several personal electric mobility proposals. This project also includes personal mobility models with electric batteries. These allow the user to ride standing up on pedestrian routes, or seated on those same routes.

The other solutions are designed for the transport of heavy materials and for mobility by companies and institutions, such as tourist or delivery vehicles and last-mile transport. Among the offering of Toyota there is also an electric mobility solution designed to be attached to a wheelchair and help the user move with greater freedom. All of this, for the time being, will only be available in Japan.