Toyota's new EV van concept is based on a modular, highly customizable platform

17 October 2023

Ahead of this year's Japan Mobility Show, Toyota introduced a new EV van concept called Kayoibako, centered around efficiency and maximizing space. Interestingly enough, most of what we see in the images seems quite feasible, so if the reception is good we might see something very similar on the road.

The coolest thing about this van is that it's based on a modular, highly customizable platform. This way Kayoibako can be ordered for different purposes and may end up on the shopping list of many enterprises, not just end users. Some of the images envision the concept in different environments and use cases shown below. It can be a shuttle bus, a retail kiosk, regular van or a camping one, you name it.

The Kayoibako features sideview cameras instead of mirrors, which not only improve efficiency, but also make the vehicle more compact, so it's easier to fit into tiny spaces.

The cabin inside features a huge, curved screen spanning across the whole dashboard and this is where the concept will probably need to scale back if it's to enter production. If this is a cargo van, this interior looks like a huge overkill. It's way too expensive for enterprise fleets. After all, Toyota highlights the low load floor, suggesting that the Kayoibako's main purpose is for commercial use.

Even if the concept itself never makes it, that doesn't mean some of the ideas can't be implemented in production-ready vehicles. We like some of the ideas Toyota had with this one, so we can only hope to see something similar rolling the streets in the coming years.

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