Toyota has started the second round of its Open Road Project, to determine the commercial potential of the i-Road, its electric three-wheeled urban vehicle.
The next phase of the research will involve businesses and members of the general public who will be loaned vehicles to test on the road in Japan, through to the end of March next year.
People will have use of the i-Road for a set length of time and their experiences as “test pilots” will help assess how the EV meets their mobility needs. Toyota will also test how different issues related to use of the i-Road can be addressed by planning and providing associated services in co-operation with partner companies, using a diverse range of technologies.
Round one, which ended recently, saw 96 test pilots recruited from around 3,500 applicants. Their feedback included appreciation for i-Road’s easy-to-park quality and the greater freedom of travel it provided for some users.
