At the Tokyo Toy Show last week, Toyota introduced the Camatte concept, a 9-foot-long Toyota for tots that’s powered by an electric motor and lead-acid battery. The car, which isn’t street legal, has a top speed of 25 mph and seats three. Toyota didn’t talk price.
The Camatte has a center-positioned driver’s seat. And the back seat is big enough for a parent to squeeze in and, through remote controls, assist in braking and steering if the front-seat child needs help.
Toyota envisions the Camatte as a recruiting and training tool for the next-generation of Japanese drivers. It is something that children of well-heeled parents can drive at go-kart tracks or on private roads — and, in the process, perhaps develop a love affair with driving.
While Toyota has no firm plans to sell the Camatte, it isn’t kidding around.
Virtually all Japanese carmakers are casting about frantically for ways to spur interest in cars among young buyers in Japan, who no longer covet them as status symbols.
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