After popularizing hybrid technology, Toyota is launching its first all-electric battery-powered SUV, the bZ4X.
When the king of the hybrid goes 100% electric. Toyota has just unveiled its first model equipped with this engine, the bZ4X.
No, this is not a typo: this SUV indeed inaugurates the new zero emission range from Toyota, under the acronym "bZ" for "beyond Zero". "A name that expresses the environmental leadership of the company in electrified mobility since the original Prius, the first hybrid car, in 1997", notes the press release issued by the Japanese group.
On the design side, this bZ4X remains very close to the concept presented last April. It innovates with in particular "a new strong and expressive hammerhead shark front end, which will be the identifier of the Toyota bZ". The brand does not give its exact length but it should be closer to its RAV4 SUV, 4.60 meters long.
It will be a little lower, at 1.6 meters, but with a wheelbase (the space between the two axles) 16 centimeters larger, at 2.85 meters. An advantage linked to the electric platform which makes it possible to optimize the space offered on board.
Autonomy announced at 450 kilometers
An essential point for a 100% electric car, the range is announced at around 450 kilometers for the version equipped with a 71.4 kWh battery. Data that will be refined depending on the version. On the recharging side, the vehicle will be able to accept 150 kW of power, enough to charge to 80% in 30 minutes.
Toyota does not currently mention other battery sizes but will offer two possibilities for the engine architecture: a traction, with an electric motor of 150 kW (204 hp) and 265 Nm of torque, allowing a 0 to 100 km / h in 8.4 seconds, and an all-wheel drive version, to 159.6 kW (217.5 hp) with 336 Nm of torque, with a 0 to 100 km / h in 7.7 seconds.
Toyota gives way (finally) to battery electric
This vehicle will be based on the new e-TNGA platform optimized for electric cars and which was presented in 2019 by the Japanese group.
The Lexus brand, which also belongs to the Toyota group, recently launched its first 100% electric SUV, the UX 300e, but it is based on the GA-C platform (Prius, C-HR and Corolla) adapted to this engine.
A pioneer of the hybrid, Toyota has always displayed its reluctance towards the battery electric car, preferring for example to instead embark on hydrogen technology, with its Mirai sedan, of which it launched the second generation at the beginning of the year. .
But with increasingly stringent emissions standards, especially in Europe, Toyota no longer has much choice. Its strategy, which is based mainly on the non-rechargeable hybrid to limit CO2 emissions, thus finds a certain limit, these vehicles being potentially affected by the ban on the sale of combustion vehicles in Europe from 2035, or even earlier on some. markets.
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