Suzuki To Premiere Its First Hydrogen Test Bike At 2023 Japan Mobility Show
The 2023 Japan Mobility Show is coming up fast. It’s scheduled to take place between October 28 and November 5, 2023 in Tokyo. At the end of September 2023, Honda unveiled some of the goodies that it’s bringing to this year’s event, including the Pocket Concept electric folding bike that fits inside its Sustaina-C electric concept hatchback.
On October 3, 2023, it was Suzuki’s turn. While Suzuki no longer sells four-wheeled vehicles in the US market, they’re quite popular elsewhere in the world. From fan favorites like the Suzuki Jimny to everyday cars like the Suzuki Swift, you can see them as part of regular traffic if you visit many places in the world. As a result, the company plans to show several two-wheeled, four-wheeled, and other projects at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.
Suzuki e-PO World Premiere
Over on the two-wheeled side, the 2023 Japan Mobility Show will be the site of three Suzuki world premiere vehicles. The first is a folding electric moped called e-PO. Developed by Suzuki in cooperation with Panasonic, it’s meant to function like an electric assist bicycle, but better. While it does have pedals, its primary purpose is to ride without pedaling—and also be safe for use on motorways. The e-PO will have three modes of operation: Full electric drive, Assist drive, or Pedal drive.
Suzuki e-Choinori World Premier
Another collaboration between Suzuki and Panasonic, this is a cute electric scooter equivalent to the 50cc Choinori gas-powered scooter released by Suzuki in the early 2000s. It also makes use of a motor developed for an electric assist bicycle and is intended as a low-powered urban runabout.
Suzuki Hydrogen Burgman World Premiere
Suzuki chose the 2023 Japan Mobility Show as the place to unveil its first-ever hydrogen-powered two-wheeler to the world. The company is calling it a test vehicle, not a concept—but Suzuki is currently researching hydrogen engine development and has yet to put it into any level of production.
The exhibit will include a test vehicle cutaway that uses a Burgman 400 ABS outfitted with a 70 megapascal (MPa) hydrogen tank and its corresponding engine. Additionally, Suzuki will host panels and show videos to illustrate its progress in hydrogen engine development.
Suzuki e-Burgman
Suzuki already previously began demonstration experiments using the e-Burgman in April 2023, so this isn’t a new vehicle. It uses swappable batteries from Gachaco, and Suzuki is interested in exhibiting the vehicle and gathering more data from the public about how they currently ride motorbikes, and how they want to ride them in the future.
Other Vehicles
In a category that Suzuki is calling “Electric small mobility,” the company will show three other world premiere vehicles. The first one has four legs with wheels at the bottom and is called MOQBA. A user rides on its back, and is able to cross flat ground, as well as go up steps.
Two small ride-on four-wheeled vehicles that Suzuki will premiere are called Suzu-Ride and Suzu-Cargo. Both are single-seat vehicles, and both somewhat resemble cartoon snails. The Suzu-Ride is more compact, while the Suzu-Cargo, as the name suggests, has more room to haul items in the bed that sits just behind the rider.
Suzuki will also provide an exhibition of the Flying Car electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) that it’s been developing with SkyDrive. Production is scheduled to start sometime in spring 2024 on this vehicle at Suzuki’s factory in Shizuoka prefecture.
