Toyota Motor’s yet-to-launch all-electric SUV bZ4X will be the car giant’s first all-electric vehicle (EV) and the carmaker is gearing up to make its mass-market vehicle safer and economic on mileage.
The bZ4X comes with a battery that lasts longer compared to rival electric vehicles, according to Toyota executives.
While battery-powered EVs have been gaining traction globally, there is a safety issue — of the probability of the battery catching fire. This is leaving many prospective buyers worried.
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| Toyota bZ4X electric vehicle |
But Toyota has allayed fears and said it will use batteries made by Panasonic. These batteries have a coolant that does not conduct electricity easily, and hence, the possibility of the battery catching fire is minimised.
Also, the Panasonic EV battery packs are structured to keep the cells and coolant separated in case of a leak.
A Toyota manager said that the company is focusing on balancing three factors: Cruising range, battery degeneration and charging speed.
Toyota bZ4X will be sold in Japan first and other key markets from mid-2022.
The company will follow up this launch by rolling out seven more EVs under the bZ platform. And, this will be done in the next three years.
Toyota has set its sights on selling 3.5 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) every year by 2030, and it will set aside an investment of $70 billion to electrify its vehicles.
For its customers in Japan, Toyota may offer EVs via “subscription.” This move will address fears on battery life and resale value. Subscription charges will cover maintenance and battery replacement cost, and there will be many other features, too.
Toyota had come up with EVs for its China market but bZ4X would be considered the carmaker’s first electric vehicle. This is mainly because it is from the BEV platform that would be available throughout the world.
“bZ” depicts “beyond zero,” which is Toyota’s electrification strategy. It also doubles up as a sub-brand for its to-be-rolled-out EVs, right from the bZ4X SUV.
The bZ4X SUV doesn’t seem to have been upgraded much from the concept car. But the design of the bZ4X EV is really smart and bold and the SUV also wears a muscular look.
The specs released now are for the Japanese variant. For the US version, details could trickle out in about a month’s time.
The bZ4X EV comes equipped with a 71.4 kWh battery pack. The range of the bZ4X on a single charge is really good.
Toyota said that the “cruising range per charge (WLTC),” for the front-wheel-drive version is around 500 km, and, for the all-wheel-drive variant, it is 460 km.
The DC fast-charging capacity is around 150 kW and Toyota claims it can charge the bZ4X up to 80 per cent in just half an hour. So, the car maker hasn’t brought any big development in its fast-charging tech.
The front-wheel-drive variant has a single 150 kW motor and the all-wheel-drive version comes with an 80 kW motor on each axle.
So, the specifications of the bZ4X is similar to that of a mid-variant electric SUV. Besides powertrain, Toyota has packed quite a punch in the bZ4X EV.
The bZ4X also comes with an optional solar roof. According to Toyota, this solar roof can “generate electricity that is equivalent to 1,800 km of driving distance every year,” beside the safety and mileage advantage of the e-car.
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