Toyota, Daihatsu, Suzuki and CJPT will develop delivery minivans in 2023

Urban mobility around the world is facing major challenges. One of them is achieving a drastic reduction in polluting emissions to very low levels, which is why electric vehicles are so important to reach that goal. Japan is taking this very seriously, and four major corporations have announced a collaboration to develop delivery vehicles of this type.

The companies involved want to develop electrically driven minivans, which could be very appealing for urban mobility. The Japanese corporations taking part in this project are Suzuki Motor Corporation (Suzuki), Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (Daihatsu), Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT).

Practical and efficient vehicles

These electric minivans can be an option for last-mile deliveries. They can travel through places where larger vehicles cannot, and since they emit no polluting gases, they can also access areas with emissions-based traffic restrictions.

In Japan they have become a strong point of their delivery fleets. Around 60% of these fleets are made up of these vehicles, which are very functional and practical for parcel delivery. With the use of an electric drivetrain, air quality in Japanese cities will improve, and it may be a good option for delivery companies.

There are three basic problems that prevent the widespread adoption of electric delivery vehicles. One is the cost of the vehicle, which is well above that of one with a combustion engine. Another problem is the cost of charging infrastructure, and finally, the time the vehicle spends charging and stationary is considered too long.

To address all of these drawbacks, CJPT will take part in the planning. Suzuki, Daihatsu and Toyota will jointly develop a battery electric propulsion system suited to these commercial minivehicles. The technology of Toyota will serve as the basis, and the experience of Suzuki and Daihatsu in manufacturing small vehicles for urban transport will be decisive for this project.

The electric minivan resulting from this initiative will enter service in several cities in Fukushima Prefecture and in the capital, Tokyo.