Toyota BZ 4X
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
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Toyota Motor Corp. accelerates its momentum to electric vehicles with the launch of its first SUV built on a new EV platform, which joins Volkswagen AG’s splendid commitment to the future of electric cars.
The world’s largest vehicle manufacturer envisioned its “bZ4X”, an electric SUV sitting in its new “E-TNGA” platform at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show on Monday. The vehicle is a compact SUV that resembles Toyota’s popular Rav-4, but built on a completely new platform and with a distinctive yoke instead of a traditional steering wheel, as well as a system that can recharge the car’s battery. car using solar energy.
In 2025, Toyota plans to introduce 15 electric vehicles, including seven “bZ” series models globally, Toyota technology director Masahiko Maeda said in a briefing Monday. According to Toyota, the bZ4X is the first in the “bZ” series, meaning “beyond zero,” or cars that exceed “zero emissions only.”
Toyota plans to produce the bZ4X in Japan and China and sell it worldwide by mid-2022.
Toyota’s move comes as major carmakers pivot toward electrification, with countries in Japan in the UK pledging to phase out gasoline-only vehicles over the next few decades. So far, Toyota Hybrid Heavy Duty had taken a more cautious approach to electric vehicles, but that is starting to change with the latest debut. In comparison, Volkswagen, Toyota’s main global rival, announced one last month $ 29 billion is committed to new battery technology to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles.
“Toyota isn’t behind Volkswagen and others when it comes to electric vehicle development, it just hasn’t been as vocal as others,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said. “The ambitious announcement of new models was a surprise, but it was only Toyota to reveal what has been working for a long time.”
The Japanese manufacturer says that 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 adapted to a wide range of vehicle sizes and while certain 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 opportunity to reach a wide range of consumers: the youngest consumers in China. demanding smaller, cheaper models, such as SAIC Motor Corp., General Motors, for $ 4,230 Hongguang Mini EV. The e-TNGA platform is an approach similar to that adopted by Volkswagen with the MEB vehicle platform, which is used by the German manufacturer and its subsidiaries for the development of electric vehicles.
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
“In the years since we first introduced the Prius, we haven’t advanced with any technology, but we’ve prepared numerous options, including fuel cells, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles,” Toyota’s Maeda said. The company will expand its number of electrified models, which includes hybrids, to about 70 by 2025.
(Updates with Toyota comments, analyst, context everywhere)