With the FT-Me, Toyota wants nothing less than to “revolutionise the streetscape.” The “versatile electric runabout” is intended to fulfil “the changing needs of city dwellers and the requirements of the modern urban environment.”
With a length of 2.50 metres, the FT-Me is well suited to the city. Like a first-generation Smart, it should also be able to park in narrow spaces, requiring only a third of the usual parking space, according to Toyota. To improve visibility, the Japanese company says it has implemented a “360-degree visibility concept.” And with the appropriate driving licence, the vehicle can be driven from the age of 14 in some markets.
However, it is still purely a concept vehicle with unclear prospects for a series model. Toyota is correspondingly cautious with detailed information on the drive system. There is only talk of an ‘all-electric drive system’, which should require three times less energy per kilometre “than a high-capacity battery electric car.” The FT-Me is also said to have a solar panel integrated into the roof to charge the drive battery. Toyota claims an additional range of 20 to 30 kilometres per day. “[…] depending on the weather, removes the need to plug-in for many users,” the press release states. A claim that few solar roofs in electric cars have really been able to fulfil in practice.
However, Toyota has long since stopped limiting itself to such concept studies in the BEV sector: this week, the car manufacturer not only presented the facelift of its first battery-powered bZ4X, but also an electric SUV coupé, the C-HR+, and the electric Urban Cruiser was also shown in Europe for the first time. Toyota’s premium brand Lexus has also revised its RZ, a sister model to the bZ4X, and even offers up to 300 kW of power.
