Toyota has presented a new model. Or actually, model. The brand has pulled the curtain on a miniscule electric city car, the C + pod.
In October 2019, Toyota released the Ultra-Compact BEV Concept, a study model whose name could say a lot about the size of the electric city car. The Ultra-Compact BEV Concept is now ready for the market and will be given a different name: C + pod. The C + pod is only 2.49 meters long and 1.29 meters wide. Although the EV is about the same size as the first generation Smart Fortwo (Citi-Coupé), the small electric Toyota is more than 20 centimeters narrower than the Smart launched in 1998. The wheelbase of the C + pod is 1.78 meters.
The C + pod, which weighs only 690 kilos, is not an electric little one with which you can enjoy a piece of the highway. The Toyota C + pod has a 3.5 hp and 56 NM strong electric motor with a peak power of 12.5 hp on the rear axle. The two-seater has a 9.06 kWh battery pack, good for a WLTP range of 150 kilometers. The top speed of the C + pod is a modest 60 km / h.
Toyota C + Pod
Toyota announces a small series of the C + pod for Japanese governments, companies and organizations. The brand does say it will be able to offer the C + pod to Japanese consumers around 2022. The small EV has LED headlights and taillights and an interior in black. Also striking: the C + pod has plastic sheet metal parts. Five two-tone color combinations are available, and Toyota has come up with two three-tone options.
The C + pod will soon come off the assembly line at Toyota’s Motomachi factory, a facility where Toyota also assembles the LC and GR Yaris. The starting price of the C + pod is in Japan around € 13,042. Toyota does not yet mention plans to also bring the C + pod to Europe.