The Wigo is easily one of Toyota’s most fuel-efficient models. But considering how steep pump prices are these days, we’re sure people wouldn’t mind if the affordable little hatchback were made even more frugal.
How so? Perhaps taking out the internal combustion engine under the hood and replacing it with an electrified powertrain could work. It’s more than possible, as Toyota already has a concept available—in fact, all that’s left is for the carmaker to actually build it.
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The electric Wigo we’re talking about comes in the form of the Daihatsu Ayla EV, one of the many vehicles Daihatsu has on display at the 2022 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show.
This battery electric vehicle is built at Daihatsu’s R&D center in Indonesia. Looking at it from up front, it doesn’t look much like a Wigo, as it boasts a very modern EV-like design. At the rear, however, you’ll find familiar C-shaped taillights. Daihatsu didn’t show much of the interior during the online launch event, but we do see from the preview two sizeable screens on the dash and on the instrument cluster.
As for the powertrain, the Ayla EV packs an 80hp electric motor and a 32kWh EV battery. Daihatsu has yet to provide any figures, but we reckon the Ayla EV’s range will be impressive, considering the Nissan Leaf’s 40kWh battery promises more than 300km on just one full charge—and in a much larger vehicle at that.
No word yet whether or not Daihatsu will actually push through with mass production. If and when it does, we sure hope it eventually makes its way to our market, too.
More photos of the Daihatsu Ayla/Toyota Wigo EV:
