Toyota to start Tokyo trial of car-cum-motorbike in green mobility push
09/04/2015 06:51
By Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO, April 9 (Reuters) - Tokyoites will get a chance to
zip around town on Toyota Motor Corp's 7203.T three-wheeled
electric car-cum-motorbike from Friday, in a trial aimed at
crafting a global business model to reduce gridlock and
pollution.
The world's top-selling automaker will partner Japanese
car-sharing service operator Park24 Co Ltd 4666.T for a
six-month experiment leasing the i-Road concept vehicle, with a
view to setting up a green car-sharing business akin to Daimler
AG's DAIGn.DE car2go service.
The pint-sized i-Road has two front wheels that move up and
down independently of each other, allowing it to lean like a
motorcycle but retain the stability of a car. Toyota has not yet
decided whether to mass-produce it.
"Our concept was to offer something that's both fun and
convenient for city driving," i-Road chief engineer Akihiro
Yanaka told Reuters.
Devising smarter ways to get around - known in the industry
as "smart mobility" - looks set to become a new battleground for
automakers as urbanisation grows, pollution worsens, and more
cars clog up cities in emerging markets.
Germany's Daimler has taken the lead with car2go, where its
1 million-plus members in 30 European and North American cities
use a mobile app to reserve the tiny Smart Fortwo car, many of
which are zero-emission. Drivers pay by the minute and can drop
the car off at various spots around town.
Ford Motor Co F.N in January announced the Ford Smart
Mobility initiative that would involve various types of trials
around the world including a car-sharing service in London.
Toyota also has car-sharing experiments underway in its
namesake city as well as in France's Grenoble, but Tokyo would
be its first in a major metropolis, which it says would benefit
most from the i-Road.
"Data shows that about 70 percent of cars in big cities are
occupied by one person, with most travelling less than 10 km
(6.2 miles)," said Toshiya Hayata, group manager of Toyota's
Smart Community department. "That means the mode of
transportation doesn't have to be a car."
In the upcoming trial, users can lease one of five i-Roads
from the upmarket Ginza shopping district for 412 yen ($3) per
15 minutes, dropping it off at any of five spots in the capital.
To turn the trial into a viable business, Toyota said it
would need to slash costs both for the i-Road and for operating
a car-sharing network.
"But Daimler doesn't have anything smaller than the Smart,"
Yanaka said. "If we can make it work, the i-Road could have an
advantage."
($1 = 120.1500 yen)
(Editing by Christopher Cushing)
((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1804; Reuters
Messaging: ran.kim.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: TOYOTA MOBILITY/