The car is on show at the company’s Paris showroom on the Champs-Élysées until June 12.
Toyota says the “wind-in-the-hair” experience of driving a convertible can be had by opening all four large side windows and lowering the front windscreen. The back-end can extend into a ute-like tray for carting longer parcels, and the roof section features a luggage hold with an expandable neoprene cover. It features a smartphone docking station, with an app for sat-nav guidance and controlling the car’s air temperature. Inside the ME.WE has a simple interior with polypropylene bench seats that the company claims can be taken out of the car and used as picnic chairs.
The name ME.WE stems from the car’s apparent “concern for individual freedom” (that’s the ‘ME’ bit) and its “responsibility towards society” (that’s the ‘WE’ part). There’s a bank of batteries under the body of the car, and four in-wheel electric motors for constant propulsion, even on slippery surfaces. It weighs just 750kg but despite its lithe kerb weight, it still features a four-wheel-drive system. It features weight-saving polypropylene body panels that save about 180 kilograms over steel, a bamboo floor and dash, and a lightweight aluminium underbody. The Toyota Yaris-sized five-seater is designed to be an eco-warrior, with recyclable materials used through the body and the cabin.
The Toyota ME.WE concept, designed by the Japanese brand and European industrial designer Jean-Marie Massaud, can be configured as a ute, off-roader, semi-convertible or a city car. Toyota has unveiled a “no frills” electric car concept that it claims offers the practicality of four cars in one.