- Title: JAPAN: TOY MAKER TAKARA UNVEILS ITS RECHARGEABLE BATTERY POWERED CARS
- Date: 22nd January 2002
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) VARIOUS, PEOPLE PLAYING WITH TOY CARS (3 SHOTS) SCU BLUE "DEGI Q" BEING PLACED FOR THE TOY CAR RACE VARIOUS, PEOPLE PLAYING WITH "DIGITAL Q" AT NIGHT CLUB BY USING REMOTE CONTROL (6 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 6th February 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City:
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA3B01KIY8MJBC741JXYEJSTNFH
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Japan's third largest toymaker Takara has unveiled battery-powered cars which can travel at speeds of up to 60km per hour and be recharged from an ordinary electric socket.
The cars may look somewhat toy-like, but you still need a license to drive these battery-powered vehicles -- a "2010" sportscar and a vintage-style model oddly named "Modern Times", on the road.
Takara Co Ltd hopes the two single-seat electric cars which were unveiled on Tuesday (January 22) will be sold in toy shops, car dealerships, motorbike and bicycle stores around September this year.
The cars are part of the company's so-far successful strategy to develop toys for adults -- with other products including karaoke systems for the home, robots that can open beer cans and remote-controlled cars targeted at young men.
With the "2010" model, with a maximum speed of 60 kph, is likely to be priced under one million yen (7,534 U.S. dollars) and the vintage-style version just over that, Takara says it is targeting not just young men and women but also the elderly.
At an unveiling ceremony, Takara's president Keita Sato said he decided to enter the motor business because the fans of the company's toy car "Choro Q" seemed to be a potential market.
""Degi Q" made a mega hit recently. And "Choro Q" has being popular for a long time and now those fans became adults and they asked us to offer them something fun again. That gave us the idea to create it", said Sato.
"With our knowhow for how to have fun, we believed there are huge amount of chances for us in other industries, especially in the motor business. That's why we decided to enter the motor field with it," Sato added.
The Q-car's battery can be charged from an ordinary electric socket and has an 80-kilometre (50-mile) range.
Takara has set a modest sales target of 1,000 units in its first year but Sato said the vehicles would be profitable.
Although electric vehicles are eco-friendly, the hassle of recharging and relative lack of power have largely made them a flop for conventional automakers. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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