Panasonic, Tropos Motors Reveal Concept Cargo, Firetruck

Panasonic and Tropos Motors have revealed two multi-technology production-ready compact utility commercial vehicles.

These right-sized, fleet truck concepts are powered by Panasonic’s proprietary software and cloud services platform OneConnect.

“The goal is to address the needs of businesses that depend on small commercial vehicles with a practical and efficient solution,” says John Bautista, founder and CEO of Tropos Motors. “With an ability to accommodate both large and purpose-built payloads, our vehicles are created with versatility in mind to fulfill the requirements of any corporate, first-responder, agricultural or last-mile application.”

The first production concept is the Connected Right-Sized Emergency Firetruck. The vehicle is a Tropos Motors’ right-sized firetruck outfitted with a Panasonic TOUGHBOOK FZ-G1 tablet to track and receive emergency information.

Firetrucks can cost as much as $500,000; the Tropos FRV firetruck is one-tenth the cost and has similar capabilities. Due to its smaller height, the firetruck can access tighter spaces and can even fit underneath most parking structure height restrictions.