The Toyota group’s stand on the 2025 Tokyo motor show had loads of talking points – including a six-wheel Lexus, latest Century concepts, and a radical re-imagining of the Corolla – but it surely also had a welter of van concepts.
Perhaps essentially the most production-ready, and definitely essentially the most relevant for Australians, was the HiAce Concept.
There have been multiple variants of the HiAce Concept at Toyota’s stand. One was arrange as a rolling medical centre with a snug green couch, a big screen for a virtual medical assistant, and a swivelling passenger chair that doubles as an examination chair.
The within also features spaces for storing medical supplies, including oxygen, sonography equipment, and first aid gear. A display strip on the passenger door shows waiting time and who’s up next.
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The opposite van on display had a lower roof and a shorter wheelbase. It was arrange as a piece vehicle with dual sliding rear doors, a shelving unit along one side, and a only a single seat for the driving force.
Each vehicles have front doors that confide in 90 degrees, and large sliding rear doors. On the passenger’s side there’s no B-pillar between the front and rear doors, making it easier to load and unload large items on the kerbside.
There’s also a full-width infotainment and instrumentation display along the bottom of the windscreen, and a straightforward dashboard pod with physical climate controls, transmission shifter, and a flat-bottom two-spoke steering wheel. Fabric is used on the dashboard pod, steering wheel and seats.
Storage bins, holders and boards are positioned in the realm in front of the dashboard pod, in addition to the space ahead of the front passenger.
Toyota didn’t provide any details concerning the HiAce Concept’s drivetrain, however the vehicle’s cab-forward design, short bonnet, and raised flat floor hints at an electrical drivetrain.
Along with the ‘full-size’ HiAce Concept, Toyota also revealed a smaller Kayoibako van with sliding front and rear doors.
The similarly-sized Kago-Bo also features sliding front and rear doors, but is built for autonomous taxi fleets as an alternative of hauling goods or gear. There’s a sensor pod on the roof to enable self-driving, a spacious cabin with a no driving controls and a sofa-like rear seat.
There was an excellent smaller, kei-class compliant Daihatsu Kayoibako-K van featuring a single large sliding door on the passenger’s side, and a daily forward-hinged door for the driving force with a sliding door behind.
The dashboard pod seems to carried straight over from the HiAce Concept, although a plane-style yoke replaces the two-spoke steering wheel, and the full-width display has been junked in favour of a smartphone holder.
The HiAce Concept was originally going to be branded as the most important of the Kayoibako concepts. It’s unclear if this late change is attributable to the production intent of the HiAce concept, a matter of expediency or something else.
With the present sixth-generation HiAce debuting in 2019, it’s unclear when a brand new generation of the HiAce shall be launched. The previous two generations each stayed in production for not less than 15 years before being replaced.
Indeed, the fifth generation with its cab-over-engine design continues to be being made, and is sold in Japan and choose south-east Asian countries.
If the HiAce Concept is indeed electric and enters production, it could possibly be sold as an addition to the present petrol and diesel range.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
