Toyota launches box-shaped e-Palette compact electric bus in Japan

Toyota's e-Palette BEV, which can be used for various mobility services Image: Toyota Motor Corp

Toyota Motor Corp has launched the box-shaped e-Palette compact electric bus in Japan that can be used not only for transportation but also as a mobile store or service space.

Toyota e-Palette compact electric bus Japan launched, a box-shaped electric shuttle for mobility with battery-powered 17-seater design, Level 2 automation, and versatile use as a transport or mobile service space, debuting at Toyota Arena Tokyo & Woven City.


The starting price for the battery-powered bus with capacity for 17 people, including a driver, and maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour, is set at 29 million yen.

In the six-tier evaluation scale for vehicular autonomy, the e-Palette is capable of Level 2, or partial automation, in which a vehicle is

able to steer and accelerate itself but human intervention is still possible. Toyota aims to install Level 4 automation, or a situation where vehicles perform all tasks under specific circumstances, in the new EV model by March 2028.

Featuring spacious interiors, large windows, a low floor and wide sliding doors that allow easy boarding and exit even for wheelchair users, the vehicle was widely used for transporting athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics held in summer 2021.

More than seven years since its first unveiling, the electric bus will be used at and around Toyota Arena Tokyo that the automaker plans to open in October in Tokyo's waterfront area. The new EV model will also run in Toyota Woven City, a testing ground for advanced mobility technologies, in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture. 

Source: https://japantoday.com

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