Tokyo Motor Show Goes All In For Electric, Distances The Driver

If there’s one thing that stood out at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, it was electrification. And autonomous driving. Even Mazda, who has traditionally avoided EVs in efforts to push the efficiency envelope of its gasoline and diesel powered cars, launched the brand’s first-ever battery EV, the MX-30.

To satisfy the buying public who want new affordable, production-ready models now, Honda did launch its new Fit/Jazz and Subaru unveiled its all-new Levorg prototype while Toyota displayed its just-launched Yaris. But apart from these vehicles, almost the entire show in Tokyo appeared to be trying to redefine itself as a new-age mobility show.

Up until around 10 years ago, the Tokyo Motor Show used to be an extravaganza of new high performance sports cars, futuristic environmentally-friendly models and small, zany concepts inspired by Japan’s origami and anime cartoon culture.

Today, however, nearly every manufacturer’s stand featured some form of electric or plug-in hybrid concept, most incorporating autonomous driving technology. In fact, the ‘in-word’ C.A.S.E. (Connected, Autonomous, Sharing, Electrification) appeared multiple times around the show site. A good hint of where the Japanese industry is going can be expressed by what Japan’s biggest carmaker Toyota is calling itself these days. Gone is the phrase “car company,” replaced by “mobility company.”

From batteries, EVs and self-driving cars to lunar rovers and ride-hailing services, Toyota is on an investment binge, injecting more than ¥300 billion ($2.75b) into deals and partnerships in recent years. And what we saw at the Toyota stand was proof of its newly-found ‘mobility company’ status. On a stand that resembled something more akin to content from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) than a standard motor show, Toyota unveiled several electrically-powered autonomous minivans and buses that point to potential transport for athletes and staff in and around the Olympic village for next year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, one car that did impress as a concept that focused on driver involvement was the Toyota e-Racer, a small, open-top, sports car that looks like a machine inspired by the Batmobile. But hold that thought. The e-Racer may appear to be a traditional sports car in that it has four wheels, two tandem seats and a steering wheel, but the actual driving experience resembles the switch from reality to virtual seen in the movie “Avatar.” Using dedicated eye-glasses that fit inside the steering wheel, this 2-seater will take you virtually to any race track in the world and allow you to compete in any race from the history of motorsport. But while it focuses on driver involvement, you can’t actually drive it.

The highlight of the show, for me at least, was the Panasonic “Space-L,” a futuristic autonomously driven EV transporter that featured some of the most amazing tech I’ve ever seen. Seated in one of the four seats, the occupant is surrounded by huge 4K-quality hi-definition screens on the wall and ceiling, 22 speakers, air-conditioner units inlaid in the headrests and even aromatherapy. Perceived by its maker as a driverless transporter for 2030, the Space-L allows passengers to be fully immersed in a virtual aquarium as a whale shark swims towards you from the window display and then effortlessly launches itself over you, magically shifting from the wall screen to the ceiling display. 

Once you’ve had enough ocean life, you can push a button on a remote-control and be immediately transported to a concert hall in Germany and watch the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra play a classic Beethoven symphony. Or, you can call a florist while in transit, and order flowers for your mother who is celebrating her birthday, and have the bouquet delivered on your arrival at the restaurant. The clarity of the imagery and the depth of the sound, perfectly balanced around the cabin from those 22 speakers is the first real example I’ve seen to suggest that autonomous travel in the near future might actually be fun.

We started this report talking about EVs. Here are just some of the electric concepts on display. Toyota unveiled its all-new Mirai concept, and fuel-cell powered EV that uses hydrogen as its fuel. Slated to land in showrooms in late 2020, the new Mirai should impress for three reasons; 1) it looks a lot more like a standard luxury saloon, 2) it has switched from front-drive to rear-wheel-drive and will excite the drivers our there, and 3) its range has increased by around 20%. On the Lexus stand they revealed their LF-30 Electrified concept that hints at styling of future EVs for that brand. Boasting roof-mounted doors, the LF-30 is underpinned by a new EV platform to be used on Lexus and Toyota EVs from 2022.

Nissan unveiled two EV concept that employ the brand’s ProPilot semi-autonomous driving tech. The Ariya concept is a stylish electric crossover previewing the long-awaited SUV expected to arrive by 2022. The brand also displayed the IMk concept, an edgy zero emission urban commuter driven by electricity, a compact car that suggests the style of EV we might be driving in 5-10 years.

At the Mazda stand, pundits might have been expecting to see a new rotary concept to celebrate the brand’s upcoming centenary celebrations, but that was not to be. In stead, the brand unveiled its first-ever fully electric model, the MX-30. Taking a new, semi-retro style spin of the brand’s well-known Kodo Design language, the only hint from its rotary heritage were the rear-hinged door design first seen on the rotary-powered RX-8.

Yet another concept that turned heads but has no chance of production was the Mitsubishi MI-Tech. Part coupe, part SUV, this chunky-looking 4WD off-roader is powered by a downsized plug-in hybrid range-extender system that replaces the stock gasoline engine with a compact gas turbine engine. 

At Honda, they were celebrating 60 years in racing, and displayed legendary F1 race cars piloted by Ayrton Senna, Jenson Button and Max Verstappen. The Honda e fully electric compact, which we saw at Geneva and Frankfurt this year, turned up in production-ready form and has a range of up to 220km.

Subaru revealed their 2020 Levorg wagon with new edgy lines, a new platform and a more advanced EyeSight that will feature semi-autonomous tech when it debuts next year. The brand also showed its WRX STI Final Edition, which, for Subaru fans does not mean the WRX STI is dead. Far from it. Just note that the current STI, powered by the aging EJ20 turbo engine, which is 30 years old, is being phased out. For the record, the stinking EJ20 engine was responsible for three victories in the World Rally Championships and 6 wins in the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

Foreign brands like Porsche, Audi, BMW, VW, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Peugeot, Volvo, GM and Chrysler used to display their latest products in Tokyo too. The only importers present this time were Mercedes Benz and Renault. But this is not just a Japan issue. Manufacturers around the world are re-evaluating their marketing strategies and budgets and deciding that the standard $1 million to $10 million budgets (depending on the carmaker of course) they would normally spend on motor show stands can be better spent focusing on giving visitors and media a more hands-on experience of their products at specially dedicated launch events featuring nothing but their own products.

This time round, Tokyo might have spotlighted several ready-for-production cars like the Fit, Yaris and Levorg, but the show’s overwhelming theme for 2019 was ‘electric’ and how self-driving tech can be combined to create a new form of mobility for the future. While it provided a vision of one potential EV future, I’d like to see carmakers not forget the driver in many of us. Because even if more and more of us do lean towards electrification in the next decade, a vast majority will still want a car that boasts focused driver involvement, and not in the virtual world. Let’s try to keep it real, at least for the next few years.