Toyota Concept-i series and TOYOTA FINE-Comfort Ride Concept

The European debut for a series of new concept cars at the Geneva Motor Show gives an indicator to the design thinking Toyota will apply in its accelerated programme of electrified vehicle development. The Concept-i series of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and the TOYOTA FINE-Comfort Ride fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) demonstrate how new technologies might be used to increase the scope for personal mobility and help build a sustainable society.

At the end of 2017, Toyota Motor Corporation announced its intention to increase the pace of its electrified vehicle development, targeting more than 5.5 million sales by around 2030. More than one million of these are expected to be battery electric or fuel cell electric vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs) with zero emissions.

This ambition, which will help deliver the Toyota Environmental Challenge of a 90 per cent reduction in global average emissions from new vehicles by 2050 (based on 2010 levels), will see all Toyota models being electrified, or having an electrified option within their range, by 2025. To help achieve this significant increase, Toyota has also initiated a feasibility study with the Panasonic Corporation for a new joint business, focusing on the challenges of performance, safety, price and stable supply of prismatic batteries for electrified vehicles.

Toyota is giving an insight into the design and engineering it is exploring to maximise the potential of future BEVs and FCEVs, not just to help safeguard the environment, but also make mobility safer and more accessible, particularly for elderly and disabled people.

The Concept-i Series is a family of three BEVs, each designed to meet the needs of different types of user in different driving environments. The TOYOTA FINE-Comfort Ride Concept looks at how FCEV technology can be developed to produce a spacious, new form of premium saloon with a flexible layout. By applying artificial intelligence, gathering big data and using an in-car Agent, Toyota envisions how car and driver can become partners, with the vehicle monitoring the mood and well-being of the driver to ensure a safe and enjoyable journey.

TOYOTA LOOKS TO THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY WITH CONCEPT-i SERIES

Toyota’s new Concept-i series of vehicles use artificial intelligence (AI) to understand their drivers, allowing people and cars to become partners who can learn and develop with each other. This vision for future mobility is revealed for the first time in Europe at the Geneva Motor Show in the form of three Toyota Concept-i models designed to meet different personal transport needs.

The four-wheel Toyota Concept-i is joined by Concept-i RIDE, a universal small mobility vehicle suitable for all, including wheelchair users and elderly people, and Concept-i WALK, a “walking area” vehicle, designed for safe use on pavements among pedestrians.

Historically Toyota has sought to capture the freedom and joy of mobility in the vehicles it makes, the kind of cars that might be described by Japanese owners as “beloved”. The Toyota Concept-i series has been conceived as “beloved cars” for a new era, guided by the principle of being “more than a machine, a partner”.

The core technology for the Toyota Concept-i series is one that understands people (LEARN), applying AI to recognise human emotions and estimate what the driver’s preferences will be. This combines with automated driving systems to provide safety and peace of mind (PROTECT). It will also be possible to advance the technology to the point where a driver’s feelings can be anticipated, helping provide new dimensions of driving pleasure (INSPIRE).