Toyota to pilot three-wheeler

Tokyoites will get a chance to zip around town on Toyota Motor Corp's three-wheeled electric car-cum-motorbike from Friday, in a trial aimed at crafting a global business model to reduce gridlock and pollution.

The world's top-selling automaker will partner Japanese car-sharing service operator Park24 Co Ltd for a six-month experiment leasing the i-Road concept vehicle, with a view to setting up a green car-sharing business akin to Daimler AG's car2go service.

The pint-sized i-Road has two front wheels that move up and down independently of each other, allowing it to lean like a motorcycle but retain the stability of a car. Toyota has not yet decided whether to mass-produce it.