Toyota has launched the first follow-up to the all-electric bZ4X. Thankfully its name, Toyota bZ3, is a little easier to remember. It helps if you think “bZ” is a surname for tramas stated by the company, with the initials standing for “Beyond Zero” (as in 0 emissions). While bZ4X is a full-time 4-wheel drive system intersection (hence the “4X”), the bZ3 is a sedan that looks ready – and named – to follow the Tesla Model 3 name.
It is underpinned by Toyota’s global e-TNGA platform for electric vehicles. However, bZ3’s the battery package built by Chinese partner BYD. Toyota says that when combined with years mixture experience, perhaps in technologies such as renewable energy recovery, the total operating range is more than 373 miles. That’s no doubt helped by a drag coefficient of 0.218, which ranks best in the latest EV trim.
Toyota did not disclose the power output of the bZ3, but according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the car will be offered with either 178 or 238 hp. BYD’s Lithium iron phosphate Blade batteries are said to have better energy density and are safer than other designs. Toyota expressed concern about battery deterioration by promising that it would retain 90% of its capacity after 10 years.
In terms of size, the bZ3’s footprint is very close to that of the Model 3, just slightly larger in every metric. The car’s styling is in the style of bZ4X, with the front image being likened by Toyota to a hammerhead shark. Inside, the control panel adopts a cool minimalist aesthetic with just one screen for the gauges and a second, larger display for the sub-controls regulated by a dial-like input. The handlebars have both a flat bottom and a flat top, but fortunately, not a yoke.
Some report says the car will cost the equivalent of CNY just $28,000, significantly cheaper than the Model 3. That latter starts at $36,000 in China, even after sizable discounts. just announced today.
With the announcement of the bZ3, Toyota says more additions to the bZ family will be forthcoming. In the past, it has committed seven bZ models. However, if rumor About Toyota restarts its EV strategy is true, then perhaps fewer of them will be on the e-TNGA platform.
