As Toyota is slowly but surely moving toward a future where electric vehicles will be the centerpiece of its manufacturing efforts, all while continuing to assemble hybrids and hydrogen-powered cars, details about what the Japanese brand’s next-gen zero-emissions four-wheelers will look like are starting to emerge.
A few teaser images of two all-electric concepts were published today by Toyota ahead of the cars’ scheduled reveal at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 in Tokyo later this month, giving us some hints as to what to expect from the company’s upcoming compact crossovers and sporty two-door coupes.
First up, the FT-3e – a name that was recently trademarked in the US – is described by the Japanese automaker as being an “SUV-like” concept that “will enrich customers’ daily lives with new driving experiences and personalized services powered by innovative technologies.” We’re not exactly sure what that’s supposed to mean, but we assume Toyota is preparing some sort of personalization features and the latest and greatest in terms of tech.
With sharp, angular shapes throughout the body, the crossover has a full-width LED strip at the rear that expands to the middle of the rear fenders. The front end doesn’t show up in the teaser images, but we get a glimpse of the side-mounted displays that run from the lower part of the door to the upper part, providing info like the battery state of charge (SoC), inside temperature, and the quality of the interior air as the driver approaches the car.
As far as we can make out from the pair of images, the Toyota FT-3e concept seems to be a four-door affair, but we don’t know for sure, with details sure to come as the Japan Mobility Show inches closer.
Besides the angular crossover, Toyota also published two teaser shots of what looks like a Supra-inspired two-door electric coupe concept dubbed the FT-Se.
Bearing the Gazoo Racing (GR) logo on the integrated rear spoiler, as well as on the front fenders and the center of the yoke-like steering wheel, the swoopy orange EV shares major components with the FT-3e crossover, Toyota says, but it stopped short of offering concrete details. We think it may be sitting on the same platform as the SUV-like EV, using the same battery and electric motors, but – again – we don’t know for sure, so take that with a grain of salt.
A few months ago, the GR division was said to be working on an electric sports car with a manual transmission that reportedly had simulated internal combustion engine noises, so there's also the possibility that Toyota will show off these gizmos on the FT-Se.
One of the images shows a low digital instrument panel behind the steering wheel and two side-mounted displays that look like a modern reinterpretation of the wraparound dashboard of the A80 Supra from the 1990s that became a legend in the JDM community thanks to its highly modifiable 3.0-liter inline-six gasoline engine.
The first series-production Toyota EVs based on the marque’s next-gen platform will debut toward the end of 2025 and, according to the battery technology roadmap released by the Japanese car group, they’ll be capable of driving over 497 miles (800 kilometers) on a full charge and recharge from 10 percent to 80 percent SoC in about 20 minutes from a DC fast charger.
According to Toyota, the cost of the lithium-ion battery will be about 20 percent lower than what is currently fitted to the bZ4X crossover, with a cheaper, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO) variant capable of delivering over 372 miles (600 km) of range slated to enter production in 2026 or 2027. Solid-state batteries are also in the works, with the first mass-produced packs scheduled for market launch in 2027 or 2028.
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Source: Toyota