Toyota is edging ever closer to revealing a production version of its FT-Me concept, thanks to newly announced UK government funding. The undisclosed sum will accelerate the “feasibility study for a lightweight battery-electric vehicle”, which will be led by Toyota Manufacturing UK in Derby.
The study will feature a consortium of partners including ELM Mobility Ltd – a designer and producer of purpose-designed, last-mile urban delivery vehicles. Savcor will help with the design and integration of the car’s solar roof, while the University of Derby will provide expertise in user behaviour and the viability of solar energy as a power source.
The result, Toyota hopes, will be a showroom-ready alternative to the Citroen Ami – a short-range, urban-focused, two-seat quadricycle based on this year’s FT-Me concept. The 2.5-metre show car claims to fit in half a parking space, designed for evolving cities that are becoming increasingly unfriendly to traditional vehicles.
The feasibility study will be undertaken at Toyota’s Burnaston facility, with outcomes tested at the University of Derby. The study will also “evaluate ways to optimise circularity” using recycled materials, while also looking at economies of scale using components common to ELM’s lightweight, last-mile delivery vehicle.
Back in March, at the reveal of the FT-Me, Toyota Motor Europe’s head of new mobility, Stijn Peeters, told Auto Express: “This is an opportunity to provide customers with something a bit different. It’s more affordable, sustainable, safer, flexible and aspirational.”
