JMS 2023: Everything we found interesting at our first Japan Mobility Show experience

After four years of absence, the Tokyo Motor Show has returned as the Japan Mobility Show (JMS). One of the largest auto shows (well now mobility shows) in the world, I was extremely excited when I got a private message from Nissan Philippines inviting me to join them to go to the show.

Recently concluded and held at the Tokyo Big Sight from October 25 to November 5, 2023, participating brands went all-out bringing not just concept cars, but also other mobility concepts. Mobility is all about moving people in whatever way possible and that’s what we saw.

While we’re still on a high with what we saw at the JMS, and basically during the whole duration of our time in Japan, we round up everything that caught our attention per brand below:

Nissan

Of course we have to start with our gracious host. Nissan brought out three out of its five new all-electric concepts which look at the future of the brand—the Hyper Tourer Concept, Hyper Punk Concept, and the Hyper Force Concept.

The Japanese automaker also looked to the past, showcasing its lineup of 90th anniversary special edition versions of the Kicks, LEAF, Sakura, Serena, Note Aura, and X-Trail. They get copper accents on the front grilles and door mirrors, as well as special alloy wheels and seat materials.

You can read all about their booth here.

Toyota

Next is the world’s strongest automaker. Toyota also showcased several concept vehicles at the JMS starting with the electric crossover Toyota Land Cruiser Se, the EPU midsize pickup truck concept, the Land Hopper three-wheeled electric mobility concept, the JUU electric wheelchair, Space Mobility prototype, FT-Se sports car concept, FT-3e elecric crossover concept, and the Rangga Concept known to us as the Tamaraw.

Production vehicles were also on display such as the Land Cruiser 250-series or Prado which is very much-awaited here in the Philippines, the refreshed Land Cruiser 70-series, flagship Century SUV, and the Crown Sport crossover and recently unveiled Crown sedan.

Toyota Motor Corporation’s Toyota Auto Body subsidiary also had a couple of electric LCV concepts with the X-Van Gear Concept, and one very familiar one—the Global Hiace BEV Concept.

Honda

Honda is probably the brand that took mobility very seriously. Not only did they display the production Prologue electric crossover, and some concepts such as the Prelude Concept, SUSTAINA-C Concept, CI-MEV, and Cruise Origin, they also showcased some other forms of mobility such as the EM1 e: electric scooter which is known as the U-Go here, the Honda eVTOL which is like a helicopter or drone, the Avatar Robot, UNI-ONE electric wheelchair, and get this, a plane. Yes, Honda also displayed the HondaJet Elite II.

Afeela

In case you’re not familiar with this brand, Afeela was born out of the partnership of Honda with Sony in 2022. Their first prototype, the Afeela prototype (yes, that really is the name) was the lone star of their booth at the JMS. It is targeted for release first in the North American market by 2026.

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors seems to have a lot of plans for the Delica, the successor of the somewhat legendary L300 which we still have here in the Philippines. The company unveiled the off-road crossover D:X electrified MPV concept for those with an active lifestyle.

Mitsubishi also showed-off the all-new Triton which makes a comeback for the Japanese market. This one we’re expecting to see very soon as it is scheduled for a Philippine launch this coming January 2024. Read all about that here.

They also displayed the Delica Mini and eK X EV⁴, as well as showcased the Dynamic Sound Concept which was developed in partnership with Yamaha, installed in an Outlander PHEV. Also present were the Delica D:5 support car for the Asia Cross Country Rally 2023 (ACCR), and a replica of the Triton ACCR.

Mazda

Taking our vote for one of the best booths at the JMS is Mazda which showcased the Iconic SP sports car prototype. Painted in a new Viola Red exterior color, this gets a high-output two-rotor rotary EV system, which utilizes a highly scalable rotary engine that can burn various fuels such as hydrogen, and generates electricity with carbon-neutral fuel. Also noticeable are the return of pop-up headlights which we hope do come in its production version.

Speaking of production version, Mazda also showcased the recently updated MX-5 (Miata) (and a miniature version) which gets a handful of upgrades in terms of tech, design, and performance. You can read all about that here.

Subaru

Also catching our eye was the Subaru booth with the larger-than-life drone thing (???) hovering-ish above the booth. On the floor though is the recently revealed Levorg Layback which is a more adventure-oriented version of the Levorg compact wagon, which is known to us in the Philippines as the WRX Wagon.

Taking center stage though is the Sport Mobility Concept car, a brawny and muscular looking fully-electric sports car. Subaru did not provide any details about it which could mean it is still far from development.

Suzuki

Suzuki probably had the brightest and most colorful booth at the JMS, showcasing a handful of their small cars, including future concepts. Garnering lots of attention is the Swift Concept which was very recently unveiled in production form, together with the eWX mini wagon EV concept, and the e EVERY Concept. Also present were the Spacia and Spacia Custom concepts.

Other small mobility concepts like motorcycles and scooters, as well as another handful of production models like the very popular Jimny were also on display. 

Lexus

Let’s go with Toyota’s luxury division with Lexus which presented its LF-ZC BEV Concept, set for production by 2026, and LF-ZL Concept, which offers a glimpse at the Japanese luxury automaker’s future with electric vehicles. 

And just when you thought that luxury is only applicable to cars, Lexus also showcased the hydrogen-powered ROV Concept. Revealed initially in 2021, ROV stands for Recreational Off-highway Vehicle and offers a luxury lifestyle experience to drivers wishing to discover the wilderness in style.

Daihatsu

Last but not the least is Daihatsu. The brand is not available in the Philippines but for for those who do not know, Daihatsu is the basis of a couple of Toyota models available locally such as the Raize and Yaris Cross.

Anyway, on display in their booth are five concept cars—the me:MO, UNIFORM Truck, UNIFORM Cargo, OSANPO, and the Vision Copen. The Vision Copen might be familiar to you if you play the iconic Gran Turismo racing simulator series as it might have been one of your first cars like me.

What’s next for JMS?

The next edition of the Japan Mobility Show will happen in the year 2025. By then who knows, perhaps some of these concepts will be seen in production form or close to production form. 

Witnessing everything here was definitely life changing and we hope to once again get the chance to return one day. Plenty to look forward to.