Toyota shows three new SUVs in bZ series and aims to have 30 EV models by 2030
Toyota and Lexus have shown several battery-electric models that will hit the market in the coming years. Three new SUV models will be launched under Toyota’s bZ name. For the smallest, Toyota aims for an energy consumption of 125Wh per kilometer.
In total, Toyota showed four bZ models, two of which were crossover SUVs. For example, a bZ Compact SUV and a bZ Small Crossover were shown. All cars are still in development; the manufacturer has not yet shared many details about price, availability or specifications. Toyota did say that the bZ Small Crossover is aiming for an energy consumption of 125Wh per kilometer. For comparison: according to the EV Database, the Volkswagen ID.3 has an energy consumption of 166Wh/km. Toyota is designing that Small Crossover specifically with Europe and Japan in mind.
In addition to the Compact SUV and Small Crossover, Toyota showed a Large SUV and SDN. The latter is a sedan. The bZ models are fully electric cars that will only appear as battery electric cars. Toyota also says it wants to release existing models with petrol and diesel engines as fully electric variants.
Toyota and subsidiary Lexus unveiled eleven more battery-electric cars in addition to the bZ line; in total, the two manufacturers showed fifteen cars. By 2030, Toyota and Lexus want to have 30 battery-electric cars in their range. In addition to SUVs, it includes sports cars, off-road cars and commercial vehicles such as van and pickup trucks.
The fifteen cars that Toyota and Lexus unveiled: in the foreground the previously unveiled Toyota bZ4x, on the right the four new bZ models
Toyota was also sparing with details with these models. The company did talk about the Lexus RZ, the first battery-electric model from Lexus built on a platform that is only used for EVs. In this case, it concerns Toyota’s e-TNGA platform. This model will be unveiled in the first half of 2022, Autocar writes.
In addition, the company spoke about the Lexus Sports Battery EV, a battery-electric sports car that can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in just over two seconds and have a cruising range of more than 700 kilometers. Lexus is considering using a solid-state battery for this Sports Battery EV.
Although few concrete dates were mentioned, Toyota says that “most models should be released in the next few years.” By 2030, the company aims to sell 3.5 million EVs annually. Lexus expects to sell only battery-electric cars in Europe, North America and China. This should be the case worldwide by 2035.
These ambitions of Lexus are less than what Toyota expects for itself. Earlier this month, the European Toyota branch said it would only supply zero-emission cars by 2035, moreover, this only concerned Western Europe and not all of Europe. In addition, Toyota also spoke about the possibility of hydrogen cars, something to which it paid less attention on Tuesday.