It looks like Toyota is eyeing the smaller slice of the electric vehicle (EV) pie. The company, known for its big ambitions in the electric market, may be shrinking things down for its next project. According to an unsourced report by Japan’s Best Car, Toyota is teaming up with Suzuki to develop a mini electric vehicle.

Suzuki sold a whopping 1.31 million non-electric units in 2022

Why Suzuki? Well, the small-car giant sold a whopping 1.31 million units in 2022, according to JATO Dynamics. That’s a huge customer base looking for a transition into electric. Notably, Suzuki previewed its first-ever EV, the eVX crossover concept, in January 2023, hinting at its electric ambitions.

Toyota

Toyota, on its end, aims to produce 1.5 million battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) annually by 2026. But this time, instead of going big, it seems to be thinking small. The proposed mini EV is rumored to resemble the 145-inch long Toyota Aygo X, which is a hot seller in Europe.

Both companies have been cozying up for a while now. Last year, they declared an enhancement of their existing partnership in the development of compact electric vehicles. More recently, in May 2023, they announced a joint project focusing on a new EV platform for mini electric vans.

What’s the hint for the new vehicle’s concept name? A filing with the USPTO last week registered the name “FT-3e.” For those keeping score, “FT” stands for Future Toyota. Given Toyota’s history of using this prefix for concept vehicles, this mini electric might just be the future we’re looking at.

To add more fuel to the fire (or perhaps more electrons to the battery), Toyota has been privy about some of its 15 EV concepts it showed off last December. One of those was conspicuously labeled “small bZ electric crossover.” Is this a preview of the Toyota-Suzuki collaboration? Time will tell. Keep your eyes peeled for the Japan Mobility Show starting October 26, where we might get some juicy details about the mysterious FT-3e.

RELATED:

(Via)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR