Zoomi Life

Officially opening on October 24, the Tokyo Motor Show is already getting in the news as a few participants make early announcements about what they’ll be showcasing at the East’s largest auto event.  So far, interesting stuff from Suzuki, Mitsubishi, and Honda have been announced.

Suzuki will be showing three new concept cars: a mini called the Alto, a plug-in hybrid of the Swift, and the latest SX4-FCV fuel cell vehicle which first appeared in 2008.  The Swift PHEV has a 12 mile battery range and a tiny 660cc engine to generate more power.  The SX4-FCV still uses the 80kW GM fuel cell stack, though GM sold their stock in Suzuki several years ago.  The SX4 is now being tested on public roads and may see production soon.

Mitsubishi plans to hit the show in a big way, with a total of 16 vehicles to hit the runway. Ten of those are current-production models which qualify for Japanese eco-car tax incentives.  Two concepts of interest, though, are the PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid and the new i-MiEV CARGO.  The PX-MiEV is the showcase for the company’s new PHEV system and is a crossover minivan/SUV which gets an estimated 118mpg(US) equivalent.  The i-MiEV CARGO is an extended version of the i-MiEV which ads a lot of rear cargo space and is to be marketed towards small package delivery and similar fleets.

Honda also has some big plans for the show, with three brand new concept revelations promised. The CR-Z prototype will showcase Honda’s latest innovations in the IMA tech that Honda has been promoting as their next-generation PHEV.  This car first appeared in 2007 and is slated for production next year.  The other is an all-electric mini called the EV-N and the last is a hybrid six-seater called the Skydeck, which is meant to show how IMA can be applied to larger vehicles.

We’ll have more on the vehicles mentioned here over the coming weeks and through the show, of course.  This looks like a very tantalizing year in Tokyo!

Source: Tokyo Motor Show