Next year both the Olympics and Paralympics are being held in Tokyo. Toyota is the official fleet provider for both events. The company is planning a massive deployment of both battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
A huge array of battery-powered vehicles
Toyota says it will be deploying 3,700 mobility products and/or vehicles for the games with 90 percent of them being electrified. These will consist of battery electric powered vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, or even gas-electric hybrids. The breakdown includes 850 battery-electric vehicles, and 500 fuel-cell electric probably with hydrogen as the fuel.
The vehicles will come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They will include cars, buses, shuttles, mopeds, and even scooters. Toyota views the Olympics as a great chance to showcase its big lineup of alternative fuel powered and experimental vehicles.
Of the 3,700 products at the Olympics 2,700 will be part of the official fleet that will provide transportation between venues at the games. Beyond the official fleet: "Aside from the official fleet, Toyota will also support Games operations with other vehicles, including the mass-transit Fuel Cell Bus “Sora”, assistive vehicles that help lift passengers into their seats or are equipped with an attached slope to allow passengers with wheelchairs access to enter the vehicle via the back door, and other vehicles such as Fuel Cell Forklifts made and sold by Toyota Industries Corporation."
Pollution will be reduced with predominantly electric vehicles
Preliminary calculations suggest that the CO2 produced by the fleet at Tokyo 2020 will be reduced by approximately half of what would be emitted by a conventional gas and diesel fleet. Toyota aims at having the lowest emissions target level of any official fleet for the 2020 games.
Toyota was a pioneer in alternative fuels
In 1997 Toyota introduced its hybrid Prius using both battery and gasoline power. However, since then the company has fallen behind in the race to produce all-electric premium and mass market vehicles. Tesla, Nissan, GM and several others have overtaken Toyota in the field. However, Toyota claims it will introduce six new EVs beginning in 2020 and through 2025. The Olympics will be a great stage to launch that future lineup.
The e-Palette
The e-Palette has been described as "weird, see through, self-driving boxes roaming through cities delivering people, packages and pizza." They are shown on the appended video.
Toyota sees the e-Palette as carrying out typical mobility services which would include ride-sharing, car-pooling, or even serving as a mobile office, retail space, medical clinics, and more. At the Olympics the e-Palettes will serve transportation needs of staff and athletes. A dozen or more will carry out a continuous loop between the Olympic and Paralympic village. The vehicles are claimed to be level 4 autonomous. They will not require a human driver but will be confined to a specific area.
Formerly published in the Digital Journal
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