While many American cars tend to be enormous, a lot of European models are often more concise due to the fact that they are designed to be driven on smaller country lanes and in tight and narrow city streets and not on massive sprawling open highways. To this end, we often see Europe-friendly cars popping up here and there, and now Toyota is trying its hand on this front once again, with a new concept model that is known as the FT-Me.
It's a micro model that is all-electric and even has sustainable elements too, like a solar roof to enable it to extend its range while on the fly. It's a car that is less than 2.5 metres in length, with a two-seater cabin, and all of this means that it's small enough to occupy just half of a regular parking space.
It has a two-tone white and black styling and a design that is inspired by a jet helmet and the mobility efforts made for the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and all while featuring a "sense of safety, robustness, light weight and a go-anywhere attitude."
On top of having 360-degree visibility, smartphone integration for keyless entry, and an ability to be operated by wheelchair users thanks to its steering wheel-only drive system, it's also a car that requires the most basic driving licence, meaning in some places folk as young as 14-years-old will legally be able to get behind the wheel of this car.
Made of recycled materials and with the hope of a 90% reduction in carbon footprint when compared to most city vehicles, while we are not yet told the exact range of the car, we are told that the solar roof can add a further 20-30 km to that per day, which is said to be enough for most use case scenarios.
It's unclear if the FT-Me will ever get made, but it definitely has a few very compelling ideas for smart urban vehicular living.