Toyota’s revolutionary ultra-compact iQ concept

The intelligent solution to urban transport

Designed within the Vibrant Clarity philosophy

Less than 3 metres in length

The iQ concept represents a paradigm shift in small car design, a concept car that challenges conventional thinking of automotive hierarchies: small yet spacious, premium yet small. Realized through the vision of an ultra compact, highly space efficient, environmentally friendly vehicle
that maximizes the urban lifestyle of Europe’s fashionable metropolitan dwellers.

The iQ concept was created at ED2, Toyota’s advanced European design studio in the south of France, working under the Toyota design philosophy of Vibrant Clarity – design that is forward looking, intelligent and energetic while retaining a clarity of purpose and function.

Managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation’s Design activities, Wahei Hirai, says:

"The iQ concept is designed to reflect and enhance the lifestyle of its owners. In an urban environment, people want to express themselves through dynamic and on-the-edge design, but at the same time rational factors such as size, functionality and CO2 emissions cannot be ignored. Bringing these contradictory aims together in synergy was critical to the iQ concept, and is a way of thinking we call the ‘J-factor’, a philosophy at the heart of all our activities.”

Just a palm shorter than three meters in length – at 2.98 meters precisely – the iQ concept is a radical new approach to vehicle packaging and design. It challenges the current limitations of ultra-compact urban transport by offering an interior capable of seating four adults or three adults and luggage space – a unique versatility within a minimal footprint.

The unveiling of the iQ concept also reinforces Toyota’s commitment to reducing vehicle emissions through vehicle concept innovation. With increasing traffic congestion in urban areas, and rising concerns about vehicle emissions, the iQ concept presents a change in vehicle packaging.