Toyota wants to enter the Low Speed Electric Vehicle (LSEV) market with the FT-ME
- The world's leading carmaker since 2020, the Toyota group is beginning to take an interest in battery electric motorization. After the Lexus UX, Toyota BZ4X, Lexus RZ and Toyota CHR+, the Japanese carmaker wants to enter the Low Speed Electric Vehicle (LSEV) market (also known as L6/L7-segment quadricycles), a market occupied in Europe in part by the Stellantis group with the Citroën Ami, Fiat Topolino and Opel Rocks. Few major carmakers (such as Volkswagen or Hyundai-Kia) are still interested in this market, which has so far been modest in volume but which could grow with the new constraints linked to the challenges of traffic in urban environments, the prices of cars which have increased significantly in recent years and have made cars unaffordable for part of the population, and increasingly strict CO2 standards, without switching to the "all bicycle" option.
- Since the Twizy, Renault has returned to this market of battery electric cars, with the Mobilize Duo (which replaces the Twizy) sold for 10,000 euros (a Citroën Ami costs 8,000 euros and a Fiat Topolino 9,900 euros). Toyota will have to approach these prices if it wants to develop in this market. The model presented by the Japanese carmaker and named FT-ME measures 2.50 m long, which was the length of the first Smart sold in Europe at the beginning of the 2000s… Like the former Smart Fortwo, the Toyota FT-ME has a tailgate at the rear allowing access to a loading volume behind the seats.
- However, we can question the engine choice. Indeed, if Toyota wants to offer an even more affordable and a ligther model, why not launch such a model in a thermal version that will consume and pollute little, while remaining practical and maneuverable.