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Toyota Willing to Lead World BY eco-friendly and human-friendly vehicles,
24th October, 2007
Toyota Motor Corp. hopes to continue leading the world by attracting consumers with its eco-friendly and human-friendly vehicles, President Katsuaki Watanabe said Wednesday.
Watanabe made the remark in a speech at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, which will open to the public Saturday at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.
The top Japanese automaker, which comes close to dethroning U.S. giant General Motors Corp. as the world's top automaker in terms of group global sales in 2007, is displaying an array of environmentally friendly vehicles at the biennial event.
Among them is the 1/X concept vehicle, a 500-c.c. plug-in hybrid that can run on both gasoline and ethanol. By using plastic and other light-weight materials, Toyota succeeded in reducing the body weight of the four-seater vehicle to 420 kilograms, about one-third of the weight of the Prius hybrid.
Toyota is also displaying the ultracompact gasoline-powered car, the iQ Concept, of which the automaker boasts an outstanding fuel efficiency to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The vehicle is the smallest in Toyota`s entire fleet, measuring only 2.98 meters long and 1.68 meters wide. But it can comfortably seat two adults and a child, or a luggage, according to Toyota.
"We hope to put the vehicle on the market in the near future," Watanabe said.
Future cars are not just environmentally friendly but also promote "well-being" of humans. Toyota's RiN concept vehicle is equipped with a conditioner that can adjust the oxygen level inside the cabin. Its window glasses are slightly tinted green to reduce the level of ultraviolet rays and infrared light coming into the cabin, the company said.
Also among Toyota's concept cars is the i-REAL, a stroller-shaped, one-seater electric vehicle that can run on sidewalks and inside buildings. The vehicle is the improved version of the "i-unit" vehicle Toyota exhibited at the World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture in 2005.
"Toyota aims at creating vehicles that can enhance interaction between humans and automobiles," Watanabe said.
Release link:
http://www.automobiledir.com/press
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