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Super Cool Japanese Kei Cars Designed for the Disabled
Daihatsu's "Friendship Series" go the extra kilometer, in terms of design consideration
By Rain Noe - April 3, 2020
In America, folks with mobility issues must turn to aftermarket companies (like this one) to modify their vehicles for their needs. But in Japan, where the population is aging, design considerations for the disabled are baked in right at the factory. Carmaker Daihatsu manufactures an entire "Friendship Series" of automobiles (in the company's bread-and-butter size class, the kei car category) that are designed to make life easier for those with mobility issues.
The company has different models aimed at different needs and size requirements. To carry a wheelchair-bound passenger, Daihatsu's "Sloper" design features a retractable ramp mounted in the rear. Buyers can opt for the smaller Tanto or the (relatively) larger Hijet or Atrai models:
Tanto Sloper
Hijet Sloper
Atrai Sloper
For the passenger who is not wheelchair-bound, but finds ingress and egress difficult with a conventional car design, they offer the Atrai Rear Seat Lift:
Atrai Rear Seat Lift
For the driver who is not wheelchair-bound, but finds ingress and egress difficult with a conventional car design, Daihatsu offers the Move Front Seat Lift and the Tanto Welcome Seat Lift, whose driver's seats both turn and lower electronically:
Move Front Seat Lift
Tanto Welcome Seat Lift
Lastly, for the driver that does use a wheelchair yet is not completely confined to one, the Tanto Welcome Turn Seat allows them to wheel over to their car, stow the chair in the rear via a small built-in crane, and access the driver's position via the turning seat:
Tanto Welcome Turn Seat
The question is: As America's population continues to age, do you think our domestic manufacturers will start to do what Daihatsu's doing? I'm not so sure--while America undoubtedly has or will have greater numbers of people with mobility issues than Japan does, I haven't seen any U.S. car companies take an interest.
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Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Super Cool Japanese Kei Cars Designed for the Disabled
Love me some Kei cars.
This isn't unique to Daihatsu (or Kei cars in general). It's a whole category of offerings by pretty much all Japanese car companies. It's called Fukushi Sharyo (福祉車両) or literally "welfare car." You can just go to the Japanese product page for any of them and scroll down their lineup towards the bottom and you'll see pretty much variations of most of their lineup configured for assisted access.