Toyota COMS is like a roofed Beam Scooter for tourists in Bali, Indonesia
Jerrica · Jan 31, 2022 01:00 PM
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We’ve all been so enamoured by the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV that we totally forgot that Toyota also has its own version of a cute tiny electric vehicle. Known as the Toyota COMS, the tiny Renault Twizy-like scuttler has been reporting for duty as a tourist rental ‘car’ in Bali, Indonesia, since April 2021.
The Toyota COMS is part of a green project known as the EV Smart Mobility. The project aims to encourage the residents and tourists in and around the Nusa Dua Bali area to go green with their chosen mode of transport.
Other than the Toyota COMS, the Toyota C+pod and the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) are also part of the green project.
Tourists can use the Prius PHEV for the airport transfer to the Nusa Dua Bali area before jumping into a COMS or C+pod for the rest of their time on the holiday island.
Of course, there is also the issue of charging the tiny EVs. The government got that covered with strategically located solar panel charging stations to keep the EVs running.
This isn’t just merely an encouragement project PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) is also taking the opportunity to collect feedback from users for Indonesia’s mass electrification plan.
TAM is taking the opportunity in Bali to learn the advantages and challenges of each type of EV as well as the needs of the community.
But back to the Toyota COMS, the tiny EV is now in its second generation and has a range of only 50 km as claimed by Toyota. It takes six hours to fully charge the EV and it has a top speed of just 60 km/h.
Other than Indonesia, the COMS is also being utilised in Thailand as a ride-sharing service known as Ha:mo since 2017.
What do you think? Cuter than the Renault Twizy? It’s definitely not as high tech as the newer Wuling Mini EV, but we’ll say that both EVs are neck in neck in cuteness.
There isn’t a time in memory that doesn’t involve staring at cars. After discovering the excitement of watching Schumacher vs Hakkinen, Formula 1 became a major part of life. The love for cars and F1 ultimately led to a job with CAR Magazine. The untimely death of the magazine meant a hiatus from cars at lifestyle women’s magazine Marie Claire before another opportunity came knocking again.
