Tokyo motor show

Mazda has teased the electric vehicle it plans to release at the 2019 Tokyo motor show next week, releasing a single image of the car's cabin. The new EV will be the brand's first, and will feature an interior that creates "a feeling of being enveloped in openness". Based on the image, the infotainment controller and volume knob will carry over from the new 3, while the gear stick will be new for Mazda.

Toyota has handed down a first look at its next-generation 2020 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV), ahead of this month's Tokyo motor show. Continuing Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda's mandate for a more emotionally-inspired design theme across the brand's model lines, the new concept boasts a look that is sportier and more imposing in its proportions than the quirky futuristic look of the current Mirai.

Suzuki is preparing a troupe of cute concepts for the 2019 Tokyo motor show, headlined by the compact Wako SPO coupe. Built to embody the tagline "Waku Waku switch for everyone: Excitement for you, excitement for everyone" (seriously), the range of concept cars preview everything from a plug-in hybrid coupe to a self-driving living room on wheels.

Mazda, the Japanese brand that has bet its powertrain future on the continuation of the internal combustion engine for the medium to long-term, has also acknowledged that work on its SkyActiv D turbo-diesel engines will continue for years to come. Despite having announced and soon set to launch a range of new compression-ignition SkyActiv X engines, which take the best of petrol and diesel into account, Mazda says there is still a place for diesel engines in its line-up.

Italian design house Zagato has taken to the Tokyo motor show to reveal its IsoRivolta Vision Gran Turismo, which will star in the new Gran Turismo Sport video game. Named after the Milan-based automaker Iso, the IsoRivolta features a bespoke chassis and is powered by a 6.2-litre twin-turbo V8 from a Callaway Corvette.