At the ongoing 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota is displaying a few environmentally friendly cars, two of which – one hydrogen powered and another all-electric – are slated for production.

Regarding the battery powered one, don’t let its experimental sounding name of “FT-EV III Concept” mislead you. This car could be on U.S. streets by next year.

Also not all that far off, will be the hydrogen-powered FCV-R Concept, which Toyota says should be launched for fleet use in “about 2015.”

FT-EV III Concept

This BEV is being positioned as a city car, and one hint that it is roadworthy is its interior looks like that of a Toyota production model, not far out and less practical, as pure concepts tend to be.

Another more reliable hint is Toyota states it is a “near future” vehicle, and speculation has it that it could be badged as a Scion iQ EV. Its present name – FT-EV III – is short for Future Toyota – Electric Vehicle III.

It makes use of a lithium-ion battery and a single electric motor mounted under the floor. Toyota says it seats four, and can roam as far as 65 miles on a full charge.

FCV-R Concept

Toyota has said fleets will be offered this hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle as soon as 2015, and it appears the automaker is edging toward the day when mass production is viable.

The idea of an electric car powered by hydrogen that emits only water vapor and can travel as far as 430 miles has remained alluring, if not elusive.

Costs are the largest sticking point, and this in part keeps the chicken-and-egg proposition moving slowly, as evidenced by lack of refueling infrastructure.

In any event, the FCV-R – which stands for Fuel Cell Vehicle – Reality & Revolution – is four inches shorter than a Camry, but echoes the design language of a Prius.

Its fuel cell stack consists of a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, located beneath a “specially designed body” (read: not a borrowed platform from another production Toyota).

Details are relatively few, and this still being a few years away, we expect updated iterations to be presented as the FCV-R draws nearer to production for its first fleet customers.

And speaking of updates, a revised Pike Research forecast estimates by 2020 commercial sales of fuel cell vehicles will reach a cumulative 1 million vehicles globally. Pike’s estimate is a significant cut from one it made a year-and-a-half prior which forecast 2.8 million fuel cell vehicles by 2020.

What ever the actual numbers of hydrogen vehicles on the road turn out to be this decade, Toyota and other manufacturers are working on it.

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Nissan Land Glider electric concept

While falling behind on hybrids, Nissan is taking the lead on electric cars. The company will show the Nissan Leaf, which will make its US debut in late 2010. But Nissan will also display a concept two-seat electric car called the Land Glider. The cocoon-shaped vehicle is 10 feet long, three-and-a-half feet wide, and can lean as much as 17 degrees when turning corners. According to Nissan, the ultra-compact, ultra-lightweight, ultra-narrow Land Glider has a potential to become a new means of transportation in urban areas, reducing traffic and parking congestion.

Honda EV-N small electric car concept

Honda will show a near-ready production version of its CR-Z hybrid—as the company follows its strategy of focusing on small and affordable hybrids like the Honda Insight. The company also gazes into the future when cities will be more congested and more networked. Honda will display the EV-N design study—a small, four-seat battery-electric vehicle that combines Internet-age technology and retro-1960s style. The Honda EV-N uses solar cells in the roof, and a wireless communication system for traffic and EV charging station info. The EV-N’s door conveniently stores the Honda U3-X, its quirky electric unicycle that can move in any direction when the driver leans in the intended direction.

Honda will also unveil the Honda Skydeck, a small six-seat hybrid minivan, which houses the its hybrid system in the car’s center tunnel (rather than behind the rear seats) to allow for greater cabin space and room for three rows of two seats. This design signals a shift in how hybrids will pack batteries and components in the future.

Toyota FT-EV II

Toyota will not be left out of the electric fantasy parade. The company will show a range of more immediate hybrids, including a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius, but it will also display the next iteration of the FT-EV it showed early this year at the Detroit Show.

In Detroit, the FT-EV appeared as a relatively practical electric version of the Toyota IQ minicar. In Tokyo, it goes out on a futuristic limb—by removing the steering wheel and foot pedals and turning the car into an information device on wheels. As the Toyota press release states, “The FT-EV II is not simply an electric vehicle designed for a post-fossil fuel era, but is a sustainable concept car that focuses on the relationship between cars, people and society of the future.” The onboard communication system links to the driver’s home network, from which it can access large volumes of data, and download music and movies. Toyota says it’s primarily designed for short-distance travel for urban commuters.

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Toyota introduced the gas-version of the iQ in Japan in November 2008, and plans to roll out the minicar to Europe this month. Plans for North America are undetermined. The iQ is larger than the quintessential minicar, the Smart Fortwo, but not by much. Its wheelbase is a little more than five inches longer, and on the whole, the car is only about a foot longer than the Smart—11.4 inches to be exact. The iQ is a four-passenger vehicle while the Smart only carries two.

The electric version on display at the Detroit Auto Show, the Toyota FT-EV concept, offers driving range of 50 miles, according to Toyota.

“Last summer’s four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly. It was a brief glimpse of our future,” said Irv Miller, group vice president of environmental and public affairs at Toyota. The company is expected to dabble with pure electric and smaller vehicles like the iQ, but conventional gas-electric hybrids, like the Prius, are considered Toyota’s long-term core powertrain technology.

Corporate B-roll footage of the Toyota FT-EV electric city car.

Last year, Toyota announced that it planned to sell one million gas-electric hybrids per year sometime during the early 2010s. To accomplish this, Toyota is expected to launch as many as 10 new hybrid models in the next few years. The company has not made any firm commitments to bring an electric car to market.

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