Tokyo Motor Show dazzles with future technology

By Chad Lückhoff

Electric vehicles, autonomous driving, sustainable future and artificial intelligence; buzz words that were on the tips of every manufacturers tongues at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Where The Tokyo Motor Show has, in the past years, been all about concept cars and face-melting prototypes, the general atmosphere at this year's show was one that carried with it an air of responsibility and conscience.

The Tokyo Motor Show draws the attention of the largest players in the field and this year's show had the usual bevy of BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Nissan, and even Scandinavian stalwart, Volvo, showing the world their wares. Nearly all the manufacturers displayed their latest advancements in hybrid and full-EV technology, with some drawing a picture of how motoring in the next 20 years may evolve, the driving force here (no pun intended) being autonomous motoring.

Honda unveiled their NeuV electric vehicle concept that features full autonomous and unmanned operation, allowing for greater flexibility with car-sharing. Nissan was not to be left out though and their Nismo concept, based on the Leaf, also offers autonomous driving capabilities. A compact, two-seater Toyota also showed autonomous functionality with altered drive controls, reverting to a joystick-based layout.

For those hoping that there would be some information surrounding models mentioned in shows gone past, there was little to write home about. Questions about the proposed Toyota Supra were left hanging and the nearest hint of its existence came from the BMW Z4 Concept.

Mistubishi was a little more forthcoming with information around the Evo, but clearly their minds are not made up just yet, with them alluding to the fact that the next Evo will most probably be a hybrid, and an SUV. However, they didn't dismiss a performance-orientated offering, that may or may not carry the Evo nameplate. In similar vein, Subaru's Viviz concept showed us what the next generation Impreza may look like, despite showcasing their Impreza STI S208 performance sedan.

It was probably Mazda that had one of the greatest presences, drawing pundits onto their stand with two concepts; their hatchback Kai Concept suggests what we may have to look forward to with the next Mazda 3, while their Vision Coupé Concept aims to challenge the likes of the Aston Martin Rapide - the minimalist lines and clean interior design evidently geared towards luxury and design simplicity. While many believed that this would be the return of the rotary engine, Mazda denies this, stating rather that they envision their 4-door coupé to be hybrid-powered.