Toyota considering bringing iQ ultra-compact to US

Toyota considering bringing ultra-compact iQ car to US as it seeks to cater to urban dwellers

NEW YORK January 22, 2009; Dan Strumpf writing for the AP reported that Toyota Motor Corp. is considering bringing its iQ ultra-compact car to the U.S., a top executive at the automaker's U.S. division said.

"The Toyota iQ microcar being sold in Japan and Europe is another example of a world platform that we may want to adapt to the U.S. market," Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations at Toyota Motor Sales USA, said at an industry conference in Detroit on Wednesday.

Esmond said the two-door car -- which went on sale in Japan last year and in Europe shortly after -- is part of Toyota's strategy to deliver more vehicles to urban dwellers. He did not offer a timeframe for when the car might come to the U.S.

The iQ is about 10 feet long, can seat up to three adults and a child and is smaller than the Toyota Yaris. It resembles the Smart fortwo two-seater, which is made by German automaker Daimler AG and went on sale in the U.S. last year.

The fortwo has attracted a following in urban areas for its small size and fuel economy. It boasts the highest mpg among vehicles in the U.S. behind the Toyota Prius. Smart sold about 24,600 fortwos in the U.S. in 2008.

Rebecca Lindland, auto industry analyst for the consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said one of the biggest obstacles for super-small cars in the U.S. is that many consumers here simply don't want cars that small, even in urban areas.

"There's a novelty aspect to these vehicles, and as long as the manufacturer understands that they're going to get novelty car volumes, then fine," she said.

Still, Toyota is counting on the iQ's hip design, fuel-economy and safety features as its primary appeal. The car comes with nine air bags for the standard model, including a curtain shield air bag that deploys from the roof lining about the rear window to protect back-seat passengers heads in a rear-end collision.

It gets 23 kilometers a liter, or 54.1 miles per gallon, under Japanese standards, the best mileage for a Toyota that's not a gas-electric hybrid, the automaker has said.

Toyota has made it clear that smaller, more fuel-efficient cars will be a growing part of its lineup. Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled an all-electric concept vehicle -- called the FT-EV -- based on the iQ at the North American international Auto Show in Detroit. It showed off the FT-EV alongside the iQ.

Toyota also unveiled the 2010 version of its popular Prius hybrid, and has said it will launch as many as 10 new hybrid models by the early part of the next decade.