Toyota’s new EV van concept is a box on wheels from outer space

The Toyota Kayoibako is a new EV concept from the brand that’s all about maximizing space — a concept we can get behind. This small multipurpose EV is actually inspired by shipping containers, and it certainly looks like something out of the hold of an interplanetary cargo hauler. It’s the latest concept unveiled as part of the company’s Japan Mobility Show announcements.

For a concept, the exterior of the Kayoibako looks surprisingly realized — nothing about its shape or components looks particularly infeasible for a production vehicle (though flush door handles on a cargo van sound… inadvisable). The interior compartment is also intentionally spartan; Toyota envisions the Kayoibako as a highly modular vehicle platform that can be configured to accommodate a wide variety of use cases.

Everything from cargo transporter, to shuttle bus, to overland explorer, to paratransit vehicle, to mobile retail kiosk, to parcel delivery van. I mean, this basically describes what a good van platform does, but the Kayoibako’s compact layout — the car is just 13 feet long, under 6 feet wide, and 6 feet tall — makes it something of an ergonomic overachiever.

Up in the driver’s seat, the infotainment is pretty much pure concept fantasy, with a massive curved display stretching across the entire upper “dash” (if you can really even call it that?). Nothing says “highly utilitarian cargo van” like a screen that probably costs more than an entire subframe.

What Toyota doesn’t discuss explicitly is what looks like a crazy low load floor on this vehicle — another perk of EV design. The paratransit use case does make this implicit, I suppose, but imagine a cargo van you barely even need a ramp to load.

The Kayoibako foregoes actual mirrors for cameras, which could be pretty defensible on a delivery vehicle that needs to squeeze into tight spots. While there are definitely vans even narrower than this concept, the much smaller digital side mirrors mean that the vehicle’s body width is a nearly exact fit for clearance — no bits hanging off the side to worry about. Those mirrors are integrated into the Kayoibako’s ultrawide dash display, which does at least give this crazy screen something of a raison d’être.

Also, this picture of it as an overland camper out in some snowy winter wonderland looks straight up like video game concept art. I’m here for it.

Does the Kayoibako actually represent a production vehicle intent for Toyota? Who knows. The company has a history of unveiling electric concepts that never go anywhere, and this could well be just another fever dream of the Toyota concept department. Read the press release here.