Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Toyota and Mitsubishi announce line-ups, Hino to showcase FCV concept model

Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Hino have revealed their plans for the upcoming 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, due to open on 28 October at Tokyo Big Sight. Vehicles making their debuts include three different concept cars from Toyota: the Toyota FCV Plus, a fuel-cell concept; the Toyota S-FR, an entry-level sports coupé; and the Toyota KIKAI, a design concept. The S-FR concept is a small, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive model. Toyota will also host Japanese previews of the 2016 Prius and the Toyota C-HR Concept, a compact hybrid crossover. Toyota unveiled these models at separate events last month (see Germany: 16 September 2015: Frankfurt Motor Show 2015: Toyota and Nissan reveal SUV concepts, Mazda evolves design and World - United States: 10 September 2015: Toyota reveals fourth-generation Prius).

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will use the show to unveil its latest electric crossover concept, the Mitsubishi eX Concept. The model is powered by MMC's next-generation electric vehicle (EV) system and offers additional features such as a permanent all-wheel-drive system, autonomous driving technology, connected car technologies, and active safety technologies. MMC will reveal further details of these features at the model's launch at the Tokyo Motor Show. According to the company, the new sport utility vehicle (SUV) features a futuristic angular design and its latest "Dynamic Shield" front grille design. Another design aspect is the repositioning of the headlights to the lower ends of the front fascia in order "to prevent blinding oncoming vehicles and pedestrians". Without doubt, the compact SUV concept car with next-generation EV system will be the highlight of Mitsubishi's booth, which will house 15 models. In addition to the eX Concept, MMC will also exhibit models featuring other eco-technologies such as clean diesel engines, minicars, and other eco-friendly vehicles.

Meanwhile, Hino has said that it will unveil its fuel-cell bus concept at the event, and will also showcase a heavy-duty hybrid truck, a light-duty truck equipped with added advanced safety technology, as well as two engines. The concept bus model will use hydrogen as the fuel to generate power, and the automaker claims it will offer an excellent environmental performance. The model also has an external power supply function. The two engines to be exhibited are described by the truck-maker as highly efficient and low on fuel consumption. The A09C engine, mainly fitted in the heavy-duty Hino Profia truck, is a downsizing engine, while the A05C engine, based on the A09C engine, is mainly used as a downsizing engine for medium-duty trucks and is equipped with new advanced systems. The company announced that besides being fitted in the recently released Hino Ranger FE, the A05C engine would also be fitted in the Hino Blue Ribbon Hybrid, scheduled for release on 1 December this year.

Outlook and implications

With the Toyota FCV Plus concept model, Toyota maintains its focus on its longstanding intention to develop FCVs. Toyota says the FCV Plus would fit right into "a sustainable society in which hydrogen energy is in widespread use". The futuristic-looking model highlights Toyota's vision for its future fuel-cell vehicles. Toyota's currently available fuel-cell vehicle, the Mirai, has gone on sale in various parts of the world during the past year, but demand for the model is slow as it remains a niche and very expensive technology and there are currently very few refuelling sites. Despite this, in an earlier interview, the chief engineer for the Mirai, Yoshikazu Tanaka, said that he would like to widen the range of such vehicles in future, but would not be drawn on what bodystyles might be included. He added that it could take between 10 and 20 years before such vehicles formed part of the wider automotive market. However, he also admitted that it was still problematic to obtain a genuinely clean source of hydrogen, and that places where a refuelling infrastructure was in place still burned fossil fuels for extraction. Much of the reason for this is related to cost. However, this technology is progressing quickly, with Tanaka pointing out that a fuel cell weighing 108 kilograms (kg) in 2008 that produced 121 brake horsepower (bhp) now weighs just 56 kg and produces 153 bhp. Other automakers including Honda are also planning to debut their fuel-cell vehicles at the Tokyo show (see Japan: 30 September 2015: Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Suzuki and Honda reveal plans, Mazda to unveil new sports-car concept). The FCV display model from Honda is expected to preview the near production-ready version before the vehicle goes on sale in the first quarter of 2016 (see Japan: 7 July 2015: Honda to begin Clarity FCV sales in Japan by March 2016, not considering help to Takata).

The centre of attention at Mitsubishi's booth will be the all-electric compact SUV concept model, which primarily showcases MMC's advancement in EV technology. The automaker already has a compelling range of EV models in its line-up such as the Outlander PHEV and i-MiEV, but with the new model the automaker is targeting the fast-growing compact SUV market. In line with changing consumer preferences, all of the top automakers in Japan are vying to grab a slice of the SUV market. According to IHS Automotive, overall SUV sales in Japan are on an upward trend, and the market share of compact SUVs is projected to increase continuously over the next few years (see Japan: 21 August 2015: Japanese automakers look to boost SUV sales with new model launches).