Car News

Industry followers know the endless talk of autonomous vans and electric ride-share services taking over congested cities in place of conventional cars. Clearly self-proclaimed 'mobility provider' Toyota does as well, since one of the gems at its Tokyo motor show stand — called a ‘theme park’, bereft of any production cars and instead filled with ride-sharing pods, robots, and virtual reality tech — was a topless single-seater called the e-Racer (above).

Australia’s top-selling carmaker Toyota has long focused on reducing its CO2 emissions by popularising affordable hybrid versions of the Corolla, Camry and RAV4. Thanks to this push, hybrids are expected to account for 20 per cent of its sales next year.

Subaru has previewed the next-generation Levorg wagon with a 'Prototype' version at the 2019 Tokyo motor show, with the production model to go on sale in Japan during the second half of next year. The company says the new Levorg features "various cutting-edge technologies" and symbolises the "new generation of Subaru".

The Nissan Ariya electric SUV might be a concept car for now, but the 2019 Tokyo motor show star could make its way to Australian showrooms if it goes into production. And its design is a sign of things to come from most leading car brands. The Ariya – which Nissan says roughly translates to “timeless Japanese futurism” – has two electric motors and the body sits on a “skateboard” style flat battery pack.

Almost a year after the Carlos Ghosn scandal broke – and just two weeks after being announced as the new global boss of Nissan – Makoto Uchida has promised to “restore trust” in the company.