A pioneer of hybrid technology with the Prius, the giant Toyota will not have rushed things to invest in the 100% electric vehicle market.
In the eyes of posterity, hydrogen technology has even preceded electricity.
While the ecological transition is accelerating and the trajectory of reducing CO2 emissions has hardened, the manufacturer could no longer stay away from this market which is growing at high speed.
In France, over the first ten months of 2021, 122,518 100% electric vehicles were registered, compared to 113,353 plug-in hybrid models.
Announced last year, the electric program of Toyotapass with the birth of a new brand called bZ, for “beyond Zero”.
To discover
What responsibility at the wheel of an “autonomous car”?
A lowered center of gravity
Toyota
The first vehicle of this new zero-emission family is an SUV of the Rav4 size. The look of the bZ4X - what a funny name - moreover evokes the compact SUV of the manufacturer but its tapered shapes, in particular its pointed nose that the designers have baptized "hammerhead", propel us into the world of tomorrow. Imagined as a task, the black wheel arches which extend over the fenders and cover the headlamps constitute the main originality of this silhouette. The bZ4X inaugurates a new platform developed in cooperation for electric vehicles. It houses the batteries under the floor and makes it possible to reduce overhangs and lower the roof by 85 mm compared to the Rav4, to the benefit of the center of gravity. At the same time, the wheelbase has been lengthened by 160 mm compared to the hybrid SUV,for the benefit of livability.
The Toyota bZ4X's seven inch instrumentation cap.
Toyota
The interior atmosphere is clearly inspired by what can be found here and there with a large central slab in the continuity of the central tunnel.
The main originality comes from the seven-inch instrument cap, facing the driver.
Two versions are on the program. The entry level is powered by a 204 hp electric motor installed at the front and reaching 100 km / h in 8.4 seconds. Similar performance to the VW ID. 4. A 4-wheel drive version of 217 hp is also programmed. With the 71.4 kWh battery, Toyota announces a range of 450 km. On a 150 kW fast terminal, we had to be able to recover 80% of the autonomy in 30 minutes. For the first time at Toyota, the battery is water cooled. The bZ4X will also be the brand's first model to introduce electric steering. It can also optionally embed solar panels on the roof to recharge the battery. According to the manufacturer's calculations, this roof can produce enough energy in a year to travel 1,800 km.This vehicle will be marketed during the first half of 2022.
Toyota