Toyota’s autonomous vehicle concept signals the death of the car
By 2040 the concept of the car will be dead, replaced instead by autonomous multi-modal pods, and this is Toyota's vision of a possible future.
Key takeaways
- Toyota calls their latest pod the e-Palette, and it was the centrepiece of the company's press conference at CES 2018, and the automaker plans to let these autonomous vehicles loose at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
- For now, the e-Palette represents Toyota’s platform-driven future of tomorrow, so naturally it’s fully electric and self-driving.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2018) 'Toyota’s autonomous vehicle concept signals the death of the car', 311 Institute, 10 January. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/toyotas-newest-autonomous-vehicle-concept-signals-the-death-of-the-car/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
As we begin to stare the death of the car in the face, with even companies like Audi realising that societies eventual move to fully autonomous modes of transportation will mean they have to envision new types of vehicles, or pods, such as their new Long Distance Lounge concept, companies are now starting to let their imagination wander and not just re-imagine transportation and logistics, but re-imagine the world of on demand services as a whole.
Now, adding more fuel to the fire that the car as we know it is dead, or will be, Toyota have launched their latest concept, a delivery van, a restaurant, and an Uber all rolled into one. It’s the car as a blank canvas.
Toyota calls their latest pod the e-Palette, and it was the centrepiece of the company's press conference at CES 2018, and the automaker plans to let these autonomous vehicles loose at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. For now, the e-Palette represents Toyota’s platform-driven future of tomorrow, so naturally it’s fully electric and self-driving.
Our Autonomous Future
Company president Akio Toyoda called it a "plug and play" open standard that giant companies or small businesses could use for just about anything. Clearly this minibus could be a driverless ride-sharing vehicle you hail from your phone, and indeed, Uber is one of Toyota's early partners on this program, and Amazon is another, for obvious reasons.
The demonstration video for e-Palette shows these pods carrying cargo to and from distribution centers, where, say, a smaller pod would pick up your Amazon delivery and drive it to your home, and anything that fits into an e-Palette could become mobile.
Toyota asked the crowd to imagine a future Burning Man festival serviced by these self-driving Toyota pods turned into food trucks or shops, or, one of the autonomous vehicles could come to your house to pick up things you want to send to your storage unit.
It’s a great vision and it only serves to show how transformative autonomous vehicles will be, because, after all, if you don't need a driver's seat and a dashboard, then the traditional design of “what” a car is goes out the window, and anything goes.
What this means for your organisation
The vehicle becomes a platform.
Toyota describes the e-Palette as a plug and play open standard that large firms or small businesses could use for almost anything. If a vehicle needs no driver's seat and no dashboard, the old design of a car no longer applies. Carmakers are already testing bodies that swap on a shared electric, driverless chassis, with wide use expected around 2035.
Delivery and retail move onto wheels.
Uber and Amazon are early partners in the programme. In Toyota's demonstration, pods carry cargo between distribution centres and a smaller pod takes a parcel to your home. Anything that fits inside a pod could become mobile, from a food truck to a shop. Last mile delivery automation is expected to be in wide use around 2034.
Ride-hail and car ownership face pressure.
Toyota's vision is that by 2040 the concept of the car will be dead, replaced by autonomous multi-modal pods. Autonomous vehicles in general are expected in wide use around 2032. Ride-hail apps may become marketplaces for other firms' driverless fleets, with wide use around 2031.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our services could run inside a driverless pod?
- Are we building partnerships now, as Uber and Amazon did with Toyota?
- What happens to our business if customers stop owning cars?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
By 2040 the concept of the car will be dead, replaced instead by autonomous multi-modal pods, and this is Toyota's vision of a possible future.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 10 January 2018. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2018). Toyota’s autonomous vehicle concept signals the death of the car. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/toyotas-newest-autonomous-vehicle-concept-signals-the-death-of-the-car/
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