Is Toyota re-inventing the motorbike?

What happens when a motorcycle and an EV are crossed together? And what if Toyota plays catalyst?

Toyota’s i-ROAD is a fully-enclosed, two-seater, three-wheeled, fully-electric, Personal Mobility Vehicle (PMV) that is hoping to transform how city bikers travel.

The i-Road Electric Scooter incorporates Active Lean technology that automatically balances the vehicle when cornering or travelling over rough services. This modern three-wheeled vehicle perfect for a busy urban professional tilts during turns rather than the wheels actually turning. Inside the vehicle is a system that measures the degree of the angle needed in order to safely make the turn. In order to tilt the wheels move backward and forward to provide the lean capability. And over rough surfaces, the electric scooter’s computer also helps it calculate what it needs to do in order to compensate for rough surfaces.

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Toyota i-Road – Active Lean technology

The i-ROAD’s electric power train is only good for a range of 50 kms, but can be recharged from a conventional power supply in just three hours.

The i-ROAD is indeed not much larger than a motorcycle with a length of 2,350mm, a height of 1,445mm and with a wheelbase of 1,700mm. It’s most significant dimension, though, is its width: at only 850mm, it is not much wider than a conventional two-wheeler. Not only does this make for easy maneuvering through congested traffic, it also means that four i-ROADS will fit in a single parking bay.

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Toyota i-Road

The zero-emissions, all-electric power train uses a lithium-ion battery to power two 2kW motors mounted in the front wheels.

The new Toyota PMV’s compact size, maneuverability, easy parking, rapid charging and choice of an open or closed cabin make it an ideal urban vehicle, designed to reduce congestion and CO2, NOx and particulate emissions without compromising individual freedom of mobility.

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