Retail Traders Pile In As Toyota Unveils $196K EV In Tokyo, Eyes Level 4 Autonomy By 2027

Retail chatter around Toyota Motor picked up late Sunday after the Japanese automaker rolled out its new e-Palette electric vehicle at a Tokyo arena, highlighting ambitions to make the model fully self-driving under certain conditions by 2027.

Toyota’s U.S.-listed shares closed Monday at $197.28, up 0.59%, before adding another 0.25% in after-hours trade. At the time of writing, its Tokyo-listed shares were at 2,929 yen, up 1.4% on the day.

The boxy, multi-purpose battery EV went on sale Monday with a starting price of 29 million yen ($196,000). It features a spacious cabin and large windows and is designed to be adapted for shuttle services, food vending and other mobile retail uses. 

Toyota said the vehicles will be deployed in and around Toyota Arena Tokyo in the Odaiba waterfront district when the complex opens on Oct. 3.

“We need mobility that will get Odaiba excited,” Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said at the opening ceremony. “We believe that safety is always the first priority, which is why autonomous vehicles are the future,” according to a Nikkei report. 

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said the project would improve accessibility in the capital and called the arena launch “a step toward the next generation of mobility.”

Toyota first introduced the e-Palette back in 2018 at CES. It later showed up at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, shuttling athletes around, though that trial drew headlines after one of the vehicles was involved in a collision. 

The version unveiled this week can handle Level 2 driver-assist functions, and Toyota said it’s working toward Level 4 capability, where the vehicle could drive itself in certain settings without any human input.

The e-Palette runs on a 72.8 kWh lithium-ion battery with a range of about 250 kilometers. It can charge to 80% in around 40 minutes on a fast charger and can even double as an emergency power supply when parked.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Toyota Motor was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.

Toyota Motor’s U.S.-listed stock has risen 3.2% so far in 2025.

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