Special Edition - Tokyo Mobility Show 2026
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
48:01
Concept
Tokyo Mobility Show
The Tokyo Mobility Show is an event where companies display new cars and technology related to transportation. It's not just about cars anymore; it also includes ideas for how people will get around in the future.
Car
Honda Super 1 prototype
The Honda Super 1 prototype is a new electric car from Honda that is small and designed to be sporty. It's still in the testing phase but is close to being ready for production.
Term
K car
K cars are small cars that are very efficient and easy to drive in cities. They are popular in Japan because they are compact and save on fuel.
Term
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle is a car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
Term
production ready
When a car is called production ready, it means it is almost finished and can be made in large numbers to sell to customers. It's ready for the market.
Term
synthesised gears
Synthesised gears are a type of technology that makes it feel like you're changing gears in a car, but it's done electronically instead of using real gears. This is common in electric cars.
Brand
B.Y.D.
B.Y.D. is a car company from China that makes electric cars. They are becoming popular around the world, including in Japan.
Car
Toyota Land Cruiser
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a big, tough SUV that can handle rough roads and off-road adventures. It's also comfortable and has nice features, which makes it popular for families and people who like to explore.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower, the faster and stronger the car can be.
Car
Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a rugged SUV that looks like older models from Toyota's history. It was made for off-road driving and was popular for its unique style.
Term
plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid is a type of car that uses both gas and electricity. You can charge it by plugging it in, which helps it use less fuel and produce less pollution.
Term
CO2 emissions
CO2 emissions are the gases released when cars burn fuel. These gases can harm the environment, so there are rules about how much a car can produce, especially in places like Europe.
Car
Toyota GR Yaris
The Toyota GR Yaris is a sporty version of the regular Yaris, built for racing and fun driving. It has a powerful engine and special features that make it great for performance.
Car
Toyota GR 86
Concept
wheelbase
Wheelbase is how far apart the front and back wheels are on a car. It can change how the car drives and how much space is inside.
Concept
Land Rover
Land Rover is a brand that makes tough and luxurious SUVs. They are known for being able to drive well off-road and in tough conditions.
Concept
STI concept
An STI concept is a special design from Subaru that shows what a future performance car might look like. It's not a car you can buy yet, but it gives an idea of what to expect.
Car
Subaru STI
The Subaru STI is a sporty version of the Subaru Impreza, famous for its racing capabilities. It's usually blue with gold wheels, making it easily recognizable.
Car
Porsche Taycan
The Porsche Taycan is a fast electric car that looks like a sports sedan. It's known for being very quick and has a modern design, showing that Porsche is making electric vehicles.
Car
Porsche 911 Turbo S
The Porsche 911 Turbo S is a really fast sports car that looks great and drives even better. It's designed for people who love speed and want a thrilling driving experience.
Car
Subaru Impreza
The Subaru Impreza is a small car that often comes with all-wheel drive, making it good for different weather conditions. It's known for being fun to drive and is popular in racing circles.
Car
Toyota Corolla
Car
Toyota GR Corolla
The Toyota GR Corolla is a sportier version of the regular Corolla, designed for better performance and handling. It's part of Toyota's racing division and is made for enthusiasts who enjoy driving.
Car
Mazda Vision X Coupé
The Mazda Vision X Coupé is a concept car that Mazda created to show off new ideas in car design. It has a rotary engine, which is a special type of engine that Mazda is known for making.
Term
rotary engine
A rotary engine is a different kind of engine that spins instead of using pistons like most cars. Mazda is famous for making cars with this type of engine, which can be lighter and more compact.
Term
hatchback
A hatchback is a type of car that has a back door that opens up, making it easier to load and unload things. They are usually more practical than regular cars because they have more space in the back.
Car
Rover SD1
The Rover SD1 is a car made in the late 1970s and early 1980s that has a unique design with a back door that opens up. It was popular in its time and is remembered for its style.
Term
bhp
BHP means brake horsepower, which tells you how powerful an engine is. It's a way to measure how much work the engine can do without considering any losses from things like heat or friction.
Car
Mazda Rx8
The Mazda RX-8 is a sporty car that has a special type of engine called a rotary engine. It looks cool and has four doors, which makes it a fun car to drive while still being somewhat practical.
Car
Tesla Ls Model
The Tesla Model S is a fancy electric car that can go really far on a single charge. It's known for being fast and having lots of cool tech features, making it a popular choice for people who want to drive an electric vehicle.
Concept
MPV
An MPV is a vehicle that can carry many people and their stuff. It's designed for families or groups who need space.
Car
Mitsubishi Delica
The Mitsubishi Delica is a roomy van that can handle rough roads and is great for families or adventures. It's a bit different looking than regular vans, which makes it special.
Car
Mercedes-Benz Vclass
The Mercedes-Benz V-Class is a fancy van that has lots of space and comfortable seats. It's perfect for families or groups who want to travel in style and comfort.
Car
Mercedes-Benz Sclass
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a super fancy car that offers a really smooth ride and lots of high-tech features. It's often seen as one of the best luxury cars you can buy because it's so comfortable and stylish.
Car
Lexus Ls
The Lexus LS 400 is a comfortable and fancy car that was one of the first models from the Lexus brand. It's known for being very reliable and having a nice interior, making it a good choice for people who want luxury.
LIVE
Welcome to the Motoring Podcast, a Toyota Mobility Show 2025 special edition.
Hello, I'm Alan.
Hello, I'm Andrew.
What is this Tokyo Mobility Show that you talk of?
Well, we've done a special edition a bit like this before.
A couple of years ago, I think.
It is a couple of years ago, yes.
And the Tokyo Mobility Show used to be the Tokyo Motor Show, but it's now not just about
motors and cars and stuff.
It's about mobility and all that that might mean.
Yes, exactly.
It's cars and stuff.
Still.
And we started this in, what, 2015?
Our show and people started to get really on the mobility bandwagon.
And still nobody can properly define what it means.
Yeah, it's getting about stuff, really, isn't it?
But not public transport and not trucks and stuff.
We're a little bit of trucks and fans, maybe, but not big trucks.
Generally speaking, whatever the heck it is, it seems to have been very popular.
The actual physical show was open for just over 10 days.
We're recording this just after it's finished.
Couple reasons for that.
First of all, you don't just get the first, second, gosh, look at this.
We need to be the first people to splat this up on the internet type stories.
And you get a view of everything that's happened.
And it's just when we had time to record, really.
But over a million people visited it in the 10 days that it was opened.
And that's that's pretty good going.
I think I'd be happy with, you know, 100,000 people plus a day.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly. And you can bet that that was weighted towards the weekends and stuff.
It's still one of the great motor shows I think is worth going to.
Diagnobiility shows.
I was reading somewhere that it is still considered one of the top five.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
We're going to look.
We're bothering to do a special edition about it.
That gives you an idea that there's obviously people were showing
interesting stuff and different stuff.
I mean, there have been many motor shows where we've been intending on doing,
especially this and like this.
And we've got to it.
And it's just like, is that it?
Really, there's like three vehicles there.
There's not nearly enough to be worth recording half an hour, 40 minutes
worth of talk about it.
That's not necessarily a given that just because there's a motor show,
it's going to be super interesting in there.
But Japan always kind of pulls it out the bag.
It's one of those.
It's an every two years show as well.
Yeah.
It sort of splits with the some modified vehicle one in between.
And that was on the things this year, by the way, Tokyo and SEMA in Las Vegas
overland.
There was certain brands were showing loads of stuff at SEMA.
Definitely Asian brands were showing stuff in Tokyo.
Anyway, do you want to move us on to the first of the cars we've carefully
selected to discuss?
Yes, carefully.
It's a what's the word?
It's been what's the word?
All the luxury brands use bespoke.
No, no, no, well, yes, but not in this instance.
Oh, I think I know the one you mean.
You know what?
Yes, but it'll come through halfway through.
Yes.
It's been it's been carefully curated and curated.
So we're going to start, yes, we're going to start.
We're trying to go going to go roughly, roughly an order of size, I think,
was kind of what we decided roughly an order of size.
And then sort of the weird stuff at the end just seemed the most sensible
way to do it.
I'm going to kick us off with something that is, I don't know,
possibly one of the most traditional types of types of offering.
Oh, by the way, people, in case you haven't realized whether whatever
format you are consuming this in, this one, the show unusually is a
multimedia extravaganza.
It should, as we start talking about car, do something that some of
you really like when we do it, which is it should change to a slide
with pictures of that car.
Yes.
As long as your podcasting platform can support it, not all of them do,
but most of the good ones do.
Yes.
As you go along, it should be changing.
If it's not, it's your podcast.
Yes.
But Eric, we're going to start off with the Honda Super 1 prototype.
It's a K car.
It's an electric K car and it's an electric sporty K car.
What more could you possibly ask for?
It's possibly one of the least concepts there.
Oh, no, this is, I mean, it's got proper door handles and wing mirrors and everything.
I know, we judge them on the wing mirrors.
It is basically production ready.
It's a little sporty K car with grippy seats.
This one comes with synthesised gears, which Andrew hates already,
simulating a seven speed powertrain.
It has a synthesised engine noise on the inside as well.
So you can pretend it's a three cylinder, thrumming like mad, little sporty, sporty number.
It's cool.
It's cool in the looks and what it's doing.
I don't need the glittery baubles and bits on the side.
Thank you.
I do.
The car itself and what it does is cool enough for me.
That is absolutely wonderful.
And there's talk, there is talk of this possibly coming to the UK.
Yes, particularly if the EU does go down the small affordable EV route.
Yes, absolutely.
The thing about all the balls and whistles that he gets so grumpy about
is you can turn the darn things off.
And you know what, sometimes it's kind of fun to have them on
because those like the virtual gear, it even says here in the car scoops article
all as well as multimedia.
Of course, the source articles are linked to the show notes as always.
But this one from car scoops points out that the virtual gear shifts and the
it says the ice inspired soundtrack.
Let's believe that that's internal combustion engine, shall we?
That will fire into life when the car is driven in boost mode.
So I'm quite happy with that.
Normally, it's just a normal EV when you put it into silly mode.
You can have you can have you since your virtual gear shifts and stuff.
I like it shown in flat grey, but I would prefer it if it was actually painted.
I love the blue, grey and white interior, though.
I love the interior. It's so simple.
Yeah, exactly.
And it's all bolstery and cute stuff that it's as a cracker.
This is this is one of my favorites of the stuff of the ones that we're going to go through.
Yeah, there's also a YouTube video that's embedded in the article as well.
And it also goes on to say that it's going to be in it's going to be at Goodwood this summer.
Oh, excellent.
That does also bring a little bit more hope that it might come to the UK properly.
Yeah, just need the legislation to enable K cars.
Yeah, and it gives Honda something interesting to sell.
Yeah, absolutely.
In the UK.
Yeah, we'll talk about some more Honda's bit later on.
But in the meantime, Andrew, do you want to talk about a not Japanese car?
I think it's the only not Japanese car we're going to talk about.
I think it is as well.
And that's the reason we've included it.
B.Y.D. is bringing an all electric cake to the Japanese market.
Wow.
I expect there's a few nervous executives in Japan.
The B.Y.D.
Racco, Racco.
It means sea otter, supposedly, because B.Y.D.
named stuff after sea mammals.
Yes, it had to be a sea mammal.
Excellent.
There's no real information on the specs, but it is.
It is a you would look at that and you go, which Japanese car company
has this K car come from when you see it?
It is the perfect little boxy thing with the tiny wheels one at each corner.
A sliding back doors looks great.
Lots of glass, actually, which is wonderful to see.
Brilliant.
I don't know whether Japan will start to get nervous and start putting
maybe not tariffs, but encourage people to buy Japanese cars.
I think what's going to be interesting here is how it's priced,
which isn't mentioned in this article.
And actually, whether Japanese buyers will buy non Japanese cake cars.
Yes, that that is a thing.
It's price, isn't it?
It'll be price and whether the the homegrown market can compete on price.
Which nowhere else have as the home market incumbents managed to.
Yeah. Yeah.
But looks great.
The other thing about this is actually this is one that has, again,
a European tie as well.
There's lots to talk about the car from the EU.
As you were saying, whilst we were chatting before the show,
Andrew, the thing about this is is if the EU do say, well, OK,
well, we're going to have compact electric cars built in Europe,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
BYD are already establishing a European base.
You can just make copies of the tooling and start building it in somewhere
within the EU and you've got the perfect sort of e-car.
Yeah.
Fanda, you know, it's built in the EU.
It's small, it's cheap, it's compact, all these things.
And BYD is becoming more recognized brand.
Thanks a lot to how much they have spent on advertising and sponsoring major
sporting European sporting events.
Yeah, I can easily see this doing really well.
If it comes to Europe, stroke the UK.
Yes. Yeah.
So that's that actually is probably, and I've just realized
that I forgot to move on my slide.
That is probably one of the most important vehicles
at the mobility show, I think, this year for the most prosaic and dull,
dull reasons, but it was worth including here.
Yeah.
Well, do you want to take us on to another small vehicle, which I'm personally
absolutely gutted, we will not see.
And I really, really want to see.
Yeah.
Diane Sue unveiled two electric K concepts.
They unveiled the Kayoi Baku K and the K vision.
They are once again, electric K cars.
The Kayoi Baku K is the one I particularly like.
It looks an awful lot like some of the Toyota's van concepts,
but it's it's a tiny little camper, a camper version of the roof tent ladder.
Little tiny off-road tires.
Oh, they look so cute.
They do. It's not all wheel drive.
It is. It is real.
Well, uh, my talking rubbish.
No, it is. It's a real real drive because it's a cake.
But it's it's an electric K car.
So the motors at the back, I'm sorry, I've just completely scared myself
that I've got it all wrong.
So Kayoi Baku K, it's only two wheel drive, despite its cute little tires,
but it shares the same design language as larger Toyota, Toyota sort of relatives.
But it seems to have these little squirkel headlamps,
which really are anthropomorphic and other bits and pieces.
I mean, it is it's within the 3.4 meters long.
It's still got a driver's seat, possibly about a passenger seat,
depends on how you set it up.
So whether or not you want the bed, you know, beds and stuff inside,
it's all configurable.
I think it's one of those modular.
Yeah, it's something similar to something else we've discussed
recently and will come out as a special edition soon.
But the whole modular idea and sort of
adding the bits that you personally need
and fitting them as and when needed rather than
being lumbered with a bunch of stuff you probably might not need or want to use.
Yes, exactly.
Whilst in this case being super cute.
Yeah.
There'll be a link to a car scoop article.
There are two separate YouTube videos in there,
both from Dayatsu explaining and showing off all about it.
Yeah, I love the fact that they've got for the campervan,
there's contour design on the rear panels.
Oh, yeah, the rear side panels and stuff like that.
And it just goes to show the sort of individuality you can add to these things.
You could order that up for your own car, and I'd put it on for you if you wanted.
You can get cut vinyl like that.
No, I know, but they've thought about this as
from the factory as it were type thing.
Yes. Yeah, no, it is.
It's cool.
I really like that.
OK, I'm going to move us on and I'm going to stick within the Toyota group.
And this is Toyota themselves and the baby land cruiser FJ.
This is a five door smaller land cruiser,
which it will be four wheel drive has a 2.7 litre four cylinder engine,
which will give 161 horsepower.
It's on the IMV platform, which underpins the high looks and the four tuner,
which of course we don't get in Europe.
No, and talking to you earlier, you don't think we'll get this either.
I love this.
I love the land cruisers design language, which they've shrunk down into this package,
except I find the and this is from someone who loves plastic cladding.
The amount of bumperage is just makes it look ungainly and odd.
It's closer to being a successor for the FJ cruiser,
which of course was sold in the US and then also in Japan as well.
I looked at getting an FJ cruiser when I was in the US
and I said for a long, long time that it was the only off road
or that I would have swapped the bear cross out for that.
Been out of production for eight years and the prices were just still absolutely nuts.
So this is partly kind of fits that slot.
Yeah, I think in the sort of Japanese and possibly North American Toyota line up.
So I don't know about those.
I don't think this is going to make it to Europe,
partly because of the 2.7 litre four cylinder engine,
unless there is going to be some kind of hybrid plug in hybrid version.
Yeah, then it ain't making it to the UK.
And even if it isn't plug in hybrid version, Toyota UK
has seemed to be so protective of the CO2 emissions levels.
You know, in theory, you could buy a line cruiser here in practice.
Good luck.
And I think that this will end up in the same the same sort of category.
See also GR Yaris, GR 86, etc. etc.
So I see it's really cool.
It's really chunky.
It's it's properly Fisher price.
And it's so Fisher price, it's kind of hard to work out what scale it is, to be honest.
It does have a 101 inch wheelbase.
And I say that because that's a very traditional Land Rover size,
two point five meters roughly.
It's about four and a half meters long and about two meters tall.
So it is relatively large.
Well, in the first slide show that's on the car scoops article,
there is the designer standing in front of two of them.
So you get a sort of rough idea of scale.
Yes, is one of the trickier ones to tell so.
They're also showing off that you get a small electric sort of trike
that could go along with it so you could do all your offroading stuff.
And then if you needed to to get around in an urban setting,
maybe stock up on more MREs or something,
then you could use one of these little sort of little electric bike things
fitted in the bag, which is kind of cool.
Yeah, if you can reduce the bump ridge, I like it.
I like I like the idea.
The aftermarket will be selling steel winch bumpers for that so quickly.
But yeah, no, it's great.
You're doing it. Shame we never see it.
Yeah, totally.
By the way, once again, I hope I'm wrong.
Yeah, yeah, it'd be nice to be wrong for a good reason.
It is always nice to be wrong for a good reason.
Next up, though, Subaru have come out with an STI concept.
And we know it's an STI concept because it's blue with gold wheels.
It's also got big spoilers.
And in this case, it's incredibly pointy.
It's all the angles.
It's all the sharp angles.
It's all the sharp angles.
It's also really quite big as well and really flat.
But I get those battery packs in somehow.
Well, you do.
And so they seem to have taken the Porsche Taycan approach
as opposed to the hey, let's make an SUV approach.
This is from the performance scene.
Experimental world that they supposedly had on their stand.
It is all electric and slightly nuts.
It's an idea of what they could do.
Yes, with a rapid electric fastback, I suppose, is what you'd have to call it.
Yeah, I feel that performance,
performance, electrics are a waste of time because the electricness
is makes it so rapid anyway.
This feels like a legacy.
Oh, yeah.
Sorry, I didn't even think of that.
I don't think that's what he means.
Everyone know goodness me.
I am so good at these puns without even knowing it.
But with the old school attitude for marketing and the idea that performance
has to sell, I still really do not believe that most car companies
have wrapped their head around the fact that EVs are different.
They do a similar job to an ice.
So we need we need to be brought along that journey.
And they're still trying to pretend it's something that it isn't.
I don't completely agree with you.
OK, I think that there's also a certain amount of buyers who want
something that doesn't that looks that looks sporty fast.
It has wide ties.
It probably has, you know, rubbish ride comfort.
And that's part of the appeal of it.
And I think that this caters to that.
But to do that, you are amalgamating two different beasts together.
Whereas an an ice, because I discussed this with one of the brands PR team
recently, and I think they're trying to take an ice vehicle, particularly
a performance or sporty one is a compromised entity.
It is a compromised product because it has to be that the rides a bit
uncomfortable, you know, all these sort of things.
That, you know, it's much noisier than you would anticipate.
Whereas an electric has removed so much of these things
because it is a different beast and it is a much more just by its
powertrain is a much more polished entity.
So what's wrong with having a choice then?
But why can't you have both?
You don't have to buy these versions.
But I don't think I know what I'm saying is that I don't think the sporty
bit works. Okay.
Having driven the two examples we have, they were they were fine.
I was not engaged by either of them in their sportiness.
Okay.
Whereas I find that I enjoyed the sportiness of the Taycan Turbo S.
There we go.
Super at the same time, though, showed the Performance B STI
concept, which is an STI version of the current six gen
Impretza hatchback, which we don't get here in the UK.
But yeah, it's basically a production car, isn't it?
Looks a lot like a focus.
It does.
It's like a focus that's that's I was gonna say a focus that's had a
really bad day been type hard.
It has been type hard.
Exactly.
It's it's type hard or GR Corolla or any of these things.
Basically, it looks like it's ram raided carbon fiber accessory store.
And I quite like it.
Liberty Wolf.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, I think it looks like it's so stupid.
Liberty Walk haven't been anywhere near it.
It looks like it's I mean, it's it looks so stupid.
It is fantastic for what it's trying to be.
Yes, loads of wings.
It's perfect.
Yeah, yeah, perfect.
Yeah, absolutely.
But you can see how that's been translated across into the into their
STI concept, whether you like it or not.
Oh, yeah, yeah, of course.
Yeah, but I like I say, I just don't feel that the industry is yet grasped.
They still haven't grasped it.
Or whether they have or whether they feel that this is a transition period.
And this is to help us on the journey.
I just don't feel they've put that much thought into it.
Whether the industry is gross or not.
I don't think that the market is gross.
Oh, definitely not.
No, no, no, no.
Yeah, well, there you go.
And they're always going to chase the market.
OK, I'm going to take us on to something that is much more
sophisticated and grown up in its style.
From the ridiculous to the sublime, really.
Yes, Mazda with the Vision X Coupé, which is
unfortunately in today's market, a rotary engine concept.
It's better than that.
So twin rotor turbocharged rotary engine.
But this looks absolutely gorgeous.
It's a five door hatchback, long hatchback.
Looks amazing.
It's very much more Coupé than hatchback.
I think you've been your beauty.
I don't think you're doing it credit by calling it a hatchback that way.
Well, it.
OK, so it's a hatchback in the way that a Rover SD1 was a hatchback.
It's a fastback then.
It is very much a fastback.
Yes, but the the rear end is possibly the least well resolved area on it.
But you look at it in profile and I just think it looks absolutely gorgeous.
It's such a clean design and I know I keep using that when it's Mazda.
Yeah, off the front and the front three quarters.
You can tell that the rear was obviously the least successful bit
and they feel that because there aren't really any pictures of it available.
I mean, I I I'm feeling that there's a lot of aero.
There'll be a lot of talk of aero and CD numbers and things like that.
If it ever came to be.
But that doesn't explain why the rear lights are so fussy.
Yeah, yeah, no, it doesn't.
Considering everything else is so sophisticated in its simplicity.
I love the interior, by the way, you can get a glimpse of it.
You've seen pictures.
Yeah, I managed to include one that tried to show the sort of green and wood
and brushed chrome interior.
I don't know if it's chrome or aluminum or whatever, but brushed metal interior.
Really nice.
They're saying that it's put out 503bhp.
They'll run for about 100 miles just on battery.
But once the engine kicks in with the motor and the battery going,
the max range is quoted as just shy of 500 miles.
To be honest, it's an application which should suit a rotary engine.
You get up to speed and you stay at speed.
Or the engine stays at speed and then just kicks off again
and the whole timing and fueling and everything is all computer controlled.
People can't flood it and stuff.
See the former RX8 owner knows these things.
No, it looks ace.
I hope they they do make it, particularly as it's a hybrid to this.
There's a chance it comes, but there's going to be things like door handles
and proper wing mirrors yet to be added and something done around the back.
But they've done so many Vision X concepts
and none of them have turned into anything and they're all being beautiful.
I was reading an article that was talking about how it's down to costs.
And that's what's holding back the development of these gorgeous concepts
is making them financially viable.
They must are so good at part sharing across all of the models and stuff.
But they also appear to be a company that's very keen to not go growth for growth sake.
They want to keep it manageable.
They do.
And then we're talking about a car that does, you know, tens of thousands of cars a year.
That sounds ridiculous that they're not going for growth for growth sake.
But you know what I mean?
Whereas you look at you look at other companies and they are like foot flat down.
We need more numbers, more numbers, more numbers, ignoring or it feels like sometimes
ignoring the other things that need to be done to keep up with that, to keep customers happy, etc.
I've often said that the master is the Japanese song and certainly feel it.
Yeah, it's that kind of thing.
Yeah.
Anyway, that is low and swoopy and conventionally attractive.
Next up is Lexus.
Lexus has been trying to reimagine its flagship LS model.
It brought along three radical concepts to Tokyo, including one that's a six wheeled luxury minivan.
I'd argue that the days of the S class and the big saloon being an ostentatious show of wealth
are pretty much over and anyone who's anyone in the future, really what they want is
or what they'll need is some kind of minibus, some kind of MPV,
because that gives you the space to have meetings, to do things, to carry your family around in
privacy, all of these kind of things and sort of adaptable comfort and luxury.
You're not the driver. You have someone else to drive it.
Yeah.
And this is a big thing in the Far East.
I know that years ago when I was in teaching maths and English in a private school in Thailand,
then lots of the kids were delivered by the driver and they were delivered in a delica.
They were delivered in a Volkswagen Caravelle passenger version,
which may be set up for only six seats or so.
But there was lots of them were delivered in a van like that,
to high aces were another favorite one, this sort of comfy passenger versions of those.
And I think that this fits into certainly the very upper end of that sort of category.
I mean, Mercedes do it very successfully with the V-Class is a good example.
This, however, looks like it's almost come out from Joe 90 as well with its
twin rear axles and its large front wheel.
Yeah, it's a little bit dystopian, isn't it?
Very much. I mean, I was saying to you before we hit record that it reminded me of,
and this is for some of the gamers out there, of a vehicle that's just come straight out of the
game Cyberpunk 2077, the wonderful dystopian horrific future that they've imagined.
And it just screams that to me of isolation, of keeping one self away from the
dirty filthy smaller people who are beneath them, et cetera, et cetera,
while they go around in an urban area in this frankly enormous vehicle.
Yeah, it doesn't really help, but that it looks like there's kind of striations on all the windows
on this particular one. It gives privacy from the outside. It's like, if you're sitting in
the window of a bus behind the sort of wrap and the advert bit or a train or something,
whilst from the inside giving a sort of Venetian blind effect of just sort of keeping the amount
of sunlight down without it being dark and pimped. It's kind of an interesting way of
getting that sort of halfway between not sort of blacking out all the windows,
but ensuring privacy. It just, I don't know, I love the idea of a luxury MPV and what comes
with that and Lexus are already doing that, of course, with the model I can't remember the name
of, which is available in the UK. Yeah, I can't remember this either.
But I think this is adding to that idea.
But yeah, no, absolutely, because we've seen that more and more in China as well.
There's Chinese versions of the luxury van. Well, think of it as well, when you were saying
about the S-Class, it's just the ease of getting in and out as well, because luxury means,
to many, means not being inconvenienced in any way whatsoever.
And if you don't have to struggle to get in and out of the car compared to just walking into the
van. Yeah, exactly. Lexus did a couple of other LS concepts to accompany this.
One of them was the Coupe, which had sort of similar themes, but was just a sort of
jacked up Dbx type idea, but actually far more attractive than the Dbx,
which is kind of cool in its own way, but nothing mold breaking.
But they also showed the Lexus LS micro concept, which sort of accompanies the minivan.
And the idea is that you get most of the windmills and then you can move to your
personal mobility devices, tiny little three wheeler that just looks like a suitcase.
I'm sorry, it doesn't really, I don't really get it.
But it's a single seat self driving vehicle, perfect for tightly packed urban areas.
Supposedly the cabin opens up like a jewel box.
I mean, it is hammering home the look you do not have to interact with the smelly people.
It is, yes. It really is.
I mean, it's a language and driver. I'm unconvinced by that totally.
I mean, the Coupe concept, I don't mind, I think it's kind of cool.
But the single person mobility thing is a little bit on the Ford side.
Maybe it's forgetting from the underground car park in your apartment complex and
zipping your way through to your office or whatever.
But it's the vehicle of choice for the ultra rich as they go around
their gated community while the screaming masses outside being told to eat cake.
I would ridicule you if you weren't just going to turn around and say America straight at me.
Shall we go to completely the opposite end of what the Toyota group was showing at Tokyo?
But yet it's still mobility themed.
Let us do mobility hard.
Cutest, cuddliest little mobile child.
There was from Toyota four or five individual mobility solutions depending on who you were.
There's one pod thing, an autonomous vehicle pod thing that was for kids.
No, it's called the kids movie.
And it's described by parametric architecture as a compact electric bubble car for children
designed to navigate autonomously and provide safe independent transport.
That's what Andrew's really tried to say.
Yes, well, if you would like your child to be trapped in a vehicle as software goes wrong
or it cannot be opened in the event of a possible fire or something else.
It's a Toyota, not a Tesla. Come on.
It's just mad. I can't understand the thought behind making it a concept at all.
It is a bit of a you child getting here and go to school.
We are removing ourselves from our child's life so far that we have decided that we are just
going to bundle them into this thing and kick them off down the road and hope they make it to
the other end. It's just mad.
I don't know that I would want a six year old having independent transport to be perfectly on this.
No, no, not at all.
No, it's a very cute little concept, but there were some other mobility concepts to go along with this.
We agreed are a bit more real.
There's an autonomous wheelchair is described as called the Walk Me
and the inspiration for the propulsion of this is crubs legs.
Therefore, that gives you a slightly idea of how creepy it looks when it's actually moving along.
There is a certain amount of monsters in this.
I'm not going to deny it, but it is really very cool what it can do.
Of course, the idea is that it can do stairs.
It can squat down.
It can make itself taller so it can adapt to various surroundings and use cases and stuff.
It's pretty neat that I like the fact they have been thinking about different terrain,
different use cases, different needs of someone who might use it.
I'm not sure one that the leg idea is something that society will accept.
The barrier to crossing the creepy line is quite high.
Yeah, when you think possibly a caterpillar tread might do similar in a more conventional
where we go, yeah, that's fine.
I mean, there was another concept they had, which is a wheelchair, an off-road wheelchair.
I like the look of that lot primarily because it's clearly got two rocket launches over each
wheel arch.
They look like Johnny Five's eyes.
But it's meant to go along with the FJ line cruiser.
That looks more realistic as a prospect.
But as the whole point of concepts is you're supposed to be exploring
potential ways to meet the needs of people.
And this is just one possible solution for helping people who have restricted mobility get
around in more areas rather than be constrained to only those places in which there's a levelish,
easily traversed surface.
From that point of view, it's a great thing that it's being explored.
Yes, exactly.
And that's what these bits are all about.
So I think it's cool.
I think it's interesting.
I think that showing them at shows like this, which gets a million visitors over 10 days,
then that increases awareness of this sort of concept, this sort of idea as well.
But also it helps because I noticed in some videos about this, there's tons of kids going
and there's lots of kids areas at the show that it gets tomorrow's designers excited and enthused
and sparking with ideas.
Again, I don't think you would get that just from a virtual show.
No.
Or a presentation because would a 10-year-old look at a presentation from the Toyota corporation?
Probably not.
I would imagine not.
But you walk around the show and they see the little pod whilst we've mocked it and said
it's a ridiculous idea.
They may go, oh, how about this and go home and scribble some idea and work from there?
And we're moving on from some of the slightly crazy mobility stuff.
We're going to talk about one more thing, which isn't really a car, but neither is it
some sort of odd autonomous pod.
It's the IMV Origin concept.
It's a flat-pack truck that can be, according to AutoCars, whatever its owner needs.
They're showing it as essentially a base with minimum viable cab to provide roll-over protection,
in this case, and a single driver's seat.
And the idea is that it can be built and sold in anywhere in the world almost,
even in places where terrain is tough, where access to spare parts is really hard, public
transport is non-existent.
The idea is that it's to be as simple as possible.
And if people want to build a box van version, they can build a box on the back of it,
or they can strap some other boxes they've already got on the back of it.
And they can then use it in whatever way they need.
They can maybe put a tray on the back of it for bringing, collecting harvest or something.
They can do all of these things, and it's easy to work on, and it's easy to maintain.
Not just that.
As a result, it looks freaking cool.
You're just walking through it there.
I knew there was something about it that reminded me of something.
Reminds me of the ox.
The ox.
Yeah.
No, that hadn't passed me by either.
When you started explaining it, it was like, that's what I was thinking,
but I couldn't articulate.
I think it's a wonderful idea that they give you this, as you said, the minimum viable platform
in which you then, again, like we were talking with the Daihatsu Ultra Minivan.
Yeah.
It's giving you the platform, and then you adapt the vehicle to what your needs are at that time.
And I think we're going to see this more and more because more and more companies are exploring
this route of you take what you need.
What do you personally need?
But because it's modular, it doesn't mean that when you sell the vehicle on,
if you do, that you are stuck with it, or you go into another phase in your life where you
don't need that, so then you swap out the modular bits to something else.
And I love how utilitarian this looks for starters and how many possible applications
this could be put to, just so, so many.
Yeah, it's clever.
We love clever on the show.
We really do love clever design that's been thought through like that.
And even better is simple and clever.
Yeah.
And that's where this comes in.
I mean, there's this talk from Twitter executives about how it feels really weird to them to leave
stuff half finished and to not have said, well, here's your product.
And go, well, here's something you can build your product on.
Feels odd, but this, you know, this is shown sort of as a concept, but then you look more
closely at what's there and you can see that there are side marker lights.
You can see that there's all the little bits that you need.
It has proper sized wing mirrors on one side.
I can see them adding a proper seat rather than what looks like it's a blow up seat at the moment.
It does.
It did.
Yes, it doesn't look great.
I can see them adding a bit more, but then...
But it would be very utilitarian cover on it because it's open to the elements.
Yeah, no, I just love it.
Love the idea, love the thinking behind it and love them again, as with all these concepts.
And a lot of these concepts that were in the show, some of which we haven't included.
A lot of which we haven't included.
Exploring potential uses and that becomes rarer when an industry is struggling financially,
which the car industry is doing.
So they're having to get clever, which then, because of the constraints,
means that the products you get are really interesting, hopefully.
Yeah, and we see similar things with some of the Renault kind of modular stuff in Europe as well.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, not just limited to Japan, that one, but super interesting.
No, no.
Let's round off with a couple more mobility concepts from Honda.
Yes, we're taking mobility to its fullest extent here and we are going to include
the HondaJet Elite 2, really hammering home the, we are special, side of things.
The plane does look great though.
It does, it's a very cool looking plane.
I think I saw one in the real life ones.
Yeah, but not only that, there is as well the sustainable rocket.
Yes, yes.
I mean, there's only a certain level of sustainability in rockets, but again,
rockets that can take off and land.
And this is the real rocket, this rocket that has been, that was displayed in the Honda booth,
was the one that did take off and landing tests and taking Hokkaido in June this year.
They're showing off.
Because Japan has ambitions to be on the moon, don't they?
Because they've commissioned for lunar vehicles.
We've mentioned a few times some of the concepts that have come out.
Toyota stuff, yeah.
Yeah, because of the nature of the moon, there is some really,
or just the surface is really tricky in terms of making something that doesn't immediately
break down or seize up.
It's quite difficult to get up there and build a perfectly flat and level landing pack.
You know, there's some logistical challenges going on.
This is all interesting stuff.
Honda also showed things like a large size outboard motor.
Lexus also displayed a yacht.
There's all sorts of stuff like that going on, which we just don't have the time
to be able to cover or the remit really.
Yeah, there's electric motorbikes and well, not quite motorbikes, but more than a e-bike stuff as
well, which I feel of all the mobility things we can do is exploring the electric bicycle side of
things more.
I think that's got a real future.
Yeah, yeah, it does.
That's all we plan to talk about.
Andrew, what's your pick from what we've talked about, which one is your pick?
I think I can guess.
It's actually quite tricky.
It's a fairly good idea.
It's quite tricky because I'm torn between the Toyota wheelchair that I really feel is
excellently thought out with the slightly chunkier tyres, but not massively chunky.
Would be used in an urban area as well with the Daihatsu Camper as well as the Vision X Coupe.
Right.
You're really managing to narrow this down well, aren't you?
I think I'll probably lump for the Daihatsu Camper just because I think it's so cute.
Okay.
And I think it's a fabulous size and I think it shows how we don't need a massive footprint
to be able to achieve a lot of things we want to achieve.
We feel we must have bigger and that's not necessarily always the way that we need to go.
Yeah.
I'm going to choose the Daihatsu Kaioi Backhoe as well.
For similar reasons to you, I just feel it lets you achieve all sorts of cool stuff.
It's not showy-offy.
It's just so clever from that modular point of view.
It's just something about it that seems right.
I can't express it any more than that.
I know that's a bit lame, but it just feels right for sort of just
now.
Yeah.
But yeah, I again said it already at the beginning.
I think I used to find this about Geneva as well.
I still think there is such a great place for physical shows for people to go along and see stuff.
I mean, as you said earlier on, is a 10-year-old or a 7-year-old going to watch a presentation
by someone from Toyota about children's mobility?
No.
Are they going to go to a motor show and poke at stuff and try it out?
The answer is, yeah.
Obviously, this was about mobility.
This was about all sorts of forms of transport and personal transport.
I think that's key, honestly, because they were aiming for a wide range of people,
but it was still very individual because of the nature of a lot of these.
Okay, there were some lorries and trucks and bigger commercial stuff,
but generally, it was about people's way to get around in its various forms.
It's very much personal mobility.
You know, some of the other brands are showing buses and coaches and not so much coaches,
but sort of urban buses and transport systems and that kind of stuff
that people can use as part of public transport to get around,
just that part of their life and when you need to do that.
I think it's very interesting.
Completely opposite, obviously, to SEMA, perhaps.
It's just a different show for a different purpose.
I think, hopefully, those who are still trying to put on shows across the world
see this and learn lessons from it and learn to show off some exciting tech.
I find, whilst I wasn't positive about some of the stuff, I was excited to see it.
I'm really interested to see the thinking behind it and the possibilities because
I'm very clear that I am not sitting here going,
oh, I know the solution for all the problems, blah, blah, blah, or any of the problems, really.
I love to see how other people view the problems and their solutions for it.
I'm always up for looking at that and I don't think we can do that unless
they are gathered into a place and shown off because there's so many disparate locations
online to go to to look these things up that will miss stuff.
Yeah, and I like that this didn't seem to be...
Some of the specialist shows seem to be far more gatekeepered than perhaps this seems to be.
I mean, that's the impression I get from thousands of miles away.
A lot of these can be slap yourself on the back, aren't we wonderful?
Yeah, and this didn't feel like it.
Didn't get that vibe.
No. Anyway, I'm glad we talked about it. I hope you enjoyed it as well.
Don't forget, folks, that between now and next week, you can give us any feedback,
share your thoughts on the show up on the contact page of motringpodcast.com,
the hub of all our activities.
Remember, our patron is available at motringpodcast.com.
Please leave a review rating on every podcast app that lets you do such a thing.
It really does matter, as does YouTube as well.
So please do remember that that's a great way and a great place
to be able to follow and catch up on our podcasts every week.
Andrew, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
Best way to get in touch with me is if you search for CrackWindscreen on Blue Sky,
or I am under my full name on LinkedIn, if that's your preferred platform.
And I'll end if people would like to discuss more about the Tokyo Mobility Show.
What's the best way for them to do that personally?
Well, the best way to get in touch with me is Blue Sky, where I'm at AJP Bradley.
That's B-R-E-D-L-E-Y.B Sky.Social.
We'll be back next week with a new show.
But until then, I've been Alan Bradley.
I've been Andrew Clues.
And safe motoring.
About this episode
The Tokyo Mobility Show 2025 showcased a diverse range of innovative vehicles and concepts, moving beyond traditional cars to explore broader mobility solutions. Hosts Alan and Andrew discuss highlights such as Honda's sporty electric K car, BYD's entry into the Japanese market, and Daihatsu's cute camper concepts. They also delve into futuristic ideas like autonomous wheelchairs and modular trucks designed for various needs. The episode emphasizes the importance of physical shows in inspiring future designers and engaging the public in automotive innovation.
Original notes
The 2025 Tokyo Mobility Show took place between 30 October and 9 November 2025. We sat down to run through some of the exhibits that caught our eye. Some of what is discussed is out of this world, whilst others are very much for only one person at a time.
To see more about the Honda Super-one Prototype, click this Carscoops link here.
For more on the BYD Racco, click this Top Gear link here.
To join the chaps in their adoration of the Daihatsu Kayoibako K, click this Carscoops link here.
You can see more about the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ, by clicking this Carscoop link here.
Click this Top Gear link here, to read more about the Subaru STi Concept.
To see more of the very attractive Mazda Vision X Coupe, click this Top Gear link here.
The Lexus LS Concept take luxury MPV to the next stage, you can see more by clicking this Carscoops link here.
Toyota revealed concepts that considered mobility needs of a variety of people, click this Carscoops link to see their vision for handling children. Then for those with restricted mobility, click this link to a Parametric Architecture article.
Toyota had a busy show, they also presented a vehicle platform that would allow the owner to add just the elements required for their needs. Click this Autocar article link here to see more about this clever and fascinating idea.
Honda explored their full catalogue of companies to show off what they are or potentially are capable of. Click this link here for the HondaJet Elite II. To see more about Honda’s reusable rocket, click this link here.
Motoring Podcast - News Show
Motoring Podcast
0:00
48:01