Toyota BZ 4X
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
Toyota Motor Corp. accelerates its momentum towards electric vehicles with the launch of the first SUV built on a new EV platform, joining Volkswagen AG’s bright stake in the future of electric cars.
The world’s largest carmaker has unveiled the “bZ4X”, an electric SUV based on its new model The “e-TNGA” platform at the Shanghai Motor Show in 2021 on Monday. The vehicle is a compact SUV that resembles the popular Toyota Rav-4, but is built on a completely new platform and has a distinctive yoke instead of a traditional steering wheel, as well as a system that can recharge the car’s battery using solar energy.
By 2025, Toyota plans to introduce 15 electric vehicles, including seven “bZ” models globally, said Masahiko Maeda, Toyota’s chief technology officer, in a briefing on Monday. The BZ4X is the first in the “bZ” series, which means “beyond zero” or cars that exceed “zero emissions only”, according to Toyota.
Toyota plans to produce the bZ4X in Japan and China and sell it worldwide by mid-2022.
The move from Toyota comes as major automakers turn to electrification, with countries in Japan and the United Kingdom committed to phasing out gasoline-only vehicles in the coming decades. So far, the Toyota Hybrid has taken a more cautious approach to electric vehicles, but that is starting to change with the latest debut. By comparison, Volkswagen, Toyota’s main global rival, announced last month $ 29 billion has been wagered on new battery technology to speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
“Toyota is not behind Volkswagen and others when it comes to EV development, it just wasn’t as vocal as others,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida. “The ambitious announcement for the new models was a surprise, but it was Toyota that finally revealed what it has been working on for some time.”
The Japanese carmaker says the e-TNGA platform will accelerate the deployment of new electric vehicles, reducing development time and allowing the design of different models in parallel. The platform can be mounted on a wide range of vehicle sizes, and while some key elements remain fixed, the battery and electric motor – the most expensive parts of an EV – can be adjusted depending on the model.
The ability to produce cars of different prices and sizes based on its modular platform will give Toyota the ability to reach a wider range of consumers – younger consumers in China requesting smaller and cheaper models, such as SAIC Motor Corp. – General Motors for $ 4,230 Hongguang Mini EV. The e-TNGA platform is an approach similar to the one that Volkswagen adopts with the MEB car platform, used by the German car manufacturer and its subsidiaries for the development of electric cars.
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
“In the years since we first introduced the Prius, we have not advanced with any technology, but we have prepared many options, including fuel cell, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles,” said Maeda of Toyota. The company will expand its number of electrified models, which includes hybrids, to about 70 by 2025.
(Updates with comments from Toyota, analyst, worldwide context)