Toyota Motors: The steady progression to mobility

I could bore you with all the futuristic Toyota models, their range and recharging time, or even how much torque they have, but I won't.

Simply because this isn't about another electric car. In fact, this isn't about a car at all.

The future is mobility, and it's yours

It's about mobility. It's about providing the sort of comfort and convenience that no other carmakers have embarked on just yet.

It's about the future you and the future me. After all, when you can move freely, it seems anything is possible.

Sounds scary and a tad questionable, especially to a whole bunch who hasn't heard about the possible future of mobility - something Toyota has dwelled on for several years now as it makes its transition from being a traditional car company to a mobility one.

A new era of electric

Take Toyota's new ultra-compact Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) for instance.

It's an all new, production-ready compact electric car that will be showcased at the upcoming 46^th Tokyo Motor Show - even if it's not necessarily the sort of electric car we've been expecting.

At under 2.5m long and close to 1.3m wide, Toyota's two-seater electric car is even more compact than the smart Fortwo, an already diminutive all-electric car. smart, stylised with a lowercase 's', is a German automotive division under Daimler AG.

Still, based on what I've seen, the cabin is sufficient for two passengers.

Its size also translates to a lower maximum driving speed of 60km/h and a range of 100km on a single charge. Evidently, it has been designed to meet the mobility needs of the elderly and even newly licensed drivers who make regular, short-distance trips.

Mobility for all

But that's not all. A total of six different examples are created as forms of mobility solutions that can help support Japan's ageing society and provide freedom of movement to people who are at different stages of life.

One of which worth mentioning is the Walking Area BEV Wheelchair-linked Type. As its name suggests, this fully electric example connects to manual wheelchairs by providing motorised power to them, making it a lot easier for wheelchair-bound customers to move around up to 20km on a single charge.

There are also the Walking Area BEV Seated Type and the Walking Area BEV Standing Type. The former is essentially a heavy duty scooter with a handle while the latter resembles a segway.

A bright and reliable future

To a certain and arguable extent, Toyota is looking good as a car manufacturer. These mobility concepts may not be quite the muscular missionaries of charity, even if they're there for the better of the greying population.

It is, instead, a notion of how carmakers should relentlessly think of the future, a future where you and I may someday need a mobility solution that will get us from point to point without the need to break a sweat, or a bone.

After all, when you can move freely, it seems anything is possible.

The new ultra-compact BEV is expected to make its official launch in Japan in the fourth quarter of 2020 while the Walking Area BEV Wheelchair-linked Type will be released in 2021.