IMx launch.(c) Bertel Schmitt
It’s a popular trope preached by the Church of Musk: Legacy automakers are too stupid and too slow to compete with his holiness. Visit the Tokyo Motor Show, and you are liable to deviate from the true faith. There is nary a large OEM that doesn’t show at least one electrified, self-driving, and connected vehicle.
EV-pioneer Nissan already launched its 2nd generation Leaf last month. At the show, Nissan presents its IMx, an all-electric crossover concept vehicle offering fully autonomous operation and a driving range of more than 600 kilometers. This car is “not a dream,” told me its designer Taisuke Nakamura, “this is something that can be realized in the near future,” meaning in the 2020-2022 time-frame.
The “this is real part was repeated a few times today, and people in the know recommended to expect an IMx-inspired production car “within one car generation,” or 4 to 45 years.
Full screen: The Nissan IMx (Picture:Nissan)
Powered by two 160 kW electric motors front and back, the car should have a range of 600 km (370 miles) according to the optimistic Japanese JC08 standard. Inside, you will be surrounded by displays. A huge panoramic heads-up-display in the windshield continues into OLED displays in the sides of the door. You will be able to watch Harry Potter videos in cinemascope and at leisure, because the car will be able to drive “fully autonomous,” as Toshiro Muramatsu, chief of Nissan’s EE and Systems Engineering Division told me.
The Nissan IMx (Picture:Nissan)
The Nissan IMx is based on a new modular EV platform developed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Mitsubishi also rolled out a concept car at the show, the e-Evolution Concept. It is also an electric crossover, but contrary to the iMX, it likely will never be built, Mitsubishi spokespeople say. Instead, it was made to show the direction of a renewed Mitsubishi Motors brand that will focus on SUVs, EVs, and systems integration.
Mitsuhiko Yamashita presents Mitsubishi e-Evolution (c) Bertel Schmitt
Toyota, supposedly a heathen EV hater according to the Church of Musk, rolled-out three different electrified concept vehicles at the show, and for good measure added a concept of a luxury fuel-cell-powered sedan with the slightly awkward name of “Fine-Comfort Ride.”
The Honda Sports Concept (c) Bertel Schmitt
Honda unveiled its Honda Sports EV Concept, a battery-powered sportscar on the same EV platform as the Honda Urban EV Concept shown in Frankfurt.
And that’s just Japan’s top three, and just scratching the surface.
P,S,: Acting in unison with Big American Auto, Tesla does not attend the show.
