Toyota launches automated vehicle

Toyota has unveiled a new state-of-the art automated driving concept vehicle.

Company president Akio Toyoda announced the new design, named the e-Palette, in Las Vegas this week.

The fully autonomous, electric e-Palette is designed to meet the demands of multi-mode transport and future business concepts.

The vehicle has an open interior design that can be outfitted for user needs such as parcel delivery, ride sharing, or on-the-road retail shopping.

Companies including Amazon, DiDi, Pizza Hut, and Uber will explore applications of the vehicle. DiDi, Mazda and Uber will also join as technology partners.

Toyoda says the automobile industry is “clearly amidst its most dramatic period of change as technologies like electrification, connected and automated driving are making significant progress”.

“This announcement marks a major step forward in our evolution towards sustainable mobility, demonstrating our continued expansion beyond traditional cars and trucks to the creation of new values including services for customers,” he says.

Feasibility testing of the concept will take place in the United States in the early 2020s.

Toyota also hopes to use the technology at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.

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