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Toyota eCom

Toyota eCom

Background

The Toyota eCom was an electric vehicle (EV) that Toyota produced in 1998. The premise of the eCom was not to be just a small car, but a car available to everybody that had a special electronic card instead of a key, promoting carpooling. It was seen in various car shows and demonstrations in three color schemes, one being white with blue fringes, another gold with blue fringes and the third very similar to the first with green-blue fringes.

Fifty eComs were made and stations were set up for rental in Toyota City. Thirty are still in use.

Toyota Motor Sales USA joined with the University of California, Irvine and other partners to demonstrate the shared use of electric cars utilizing e-com, Toyota's 2-passenger personal transport EV. Participants include companies located in University Research Park, a commercial park next to the university. Along with sharing cars, the "Living Power Park Laboratory" will investigate breakthrough concepts in urban design, electricity generated by stationary fuel cells, and use of a micro power grid to distribute electricity. A fleet of e-coms were used for short-distance shared-usage driving and commuting .

The eCom and cars like it were pulled from Toyota's widespread lineup not long after for financial reasons. It could also be thought of as the precursor to the hybrid vehicle Prius and followed by the Toyota Crayon.