Toyota’s first BEV confirmed! bZ4X previews 2022 SUV

Toyota has used the 2021 Shanghai motor show to unveil a concept of its first battery electric vehicle, the bZ4X.

It’s taken years longer than many rivals, but the top-selling brand has come out swinging with a battery electric vehicle packed with tech and aimed at the booming mid-sized SUV segment.

Developed in conjunction with Subaru – “taking advantage of the two companies’ unique strengths” – the mid-sized bZ4X SUV looks marginally smaller than a Toyota RAV4 and will begin production globally in 2022. The Subaru version of the bZ4X is expected to be called Evoltis, a car that shares some design similarities.

The car will be produced in China and Japan; no word yet on where Australian versions will come from – but they are coming.

Toyota bZ4X confirmed for Australia, 2022 at the earliest

Coinciding with the global announcement of the bZ4X Toyota Australia says “it will introduce the Toyota bZ4X battery electric vehicle to the Australian market, with timing to be confirmed closer to launch”.

While Toyota has led the market with the push towards hybrid vehicles – Toyota dominates hybrid vehicle sales, even suggesting it may not be able to meet initial demand for the upcoming Kluger Hybrid – and recently brought 20 Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to Australia.

But it is one of the last major brands to announce a move into the battery electric vehicle space.

“Adding the first battery electric vehicle to our range builds on our approach of providing a variety of powertrain options, while reducing emissions,” said Toyota Australia vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley.

Despite kicking big hybrid goals, Toyota also sells more diesel vehicles and large four-wheel drives than any other brand, cancelling out some of those hybrid gains.

“Our approach reiterates Toyota Australia’s absolute commitment to reducing its CO2 footprint and the adoption of new technologies across our extensive range of vehicles, whilst recognising the different practical needs of Australian customers and geographies. Offering a number of powertrain choices to suit customer needs is essential.”

Despite being slow to the BEV party, Toyota argues it is better placed than rivals to take advantage of electricity.

“Globally, Toyota has more than 20 years of proven design and development experience in electrified powertrains,” says Hanley.

“We will continue to evaluate the market in Australia and strive towards increasing to a powertrain mix that includes a form of electrification across our vehicle range by 2030, excluding GR and performance models.”

Don’t expect the bZ4X to be a bargain, though; Toyota execs says the new EV will be expensive.

Familiar Toyota SUV styling

The Toyota bZ4X shares many design themes with the RAV4, including its basic shape, distinctive black wheel arch surrounds and angular lights.

Granted, those wheel arches are more aggressive and flow into the front bumper, while the tail lights more aggressively pierce the bodywork at the rear of the car.

But it’s nowhere near as radical as the Nissan Ariya, Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 which are similar in approach and size.

However, the bZ4X is built on the e-TNGA architecture which is specific to EVs.

That allows engineers to more suitably place batteries and motors to maximise packaging and space.

While there are no numbers, Toyota says the bZ4X has a long wheelbase that maximises interior space and provides rear legroom comparable to that of mid-sized sedan such as the Camry. There’s also a flat floor for better foot space.

No word on its size, although lining the two up suggests the bZ4X has smaller exterior proportions than a RAV4 and with more of an emphasis on aerodynamics, including a more steeply raked rear windscreen.

Details of what lies beneath the bZ4X’s sheetmetal are also light-on for now.

Toyota hasn’t even detailed what motors it will have, the capacity of the battery pack, the estimated EV range, how much power it will produce and what sort of charging hardware the car has.

About the only level of detail is that the car will drive all four wheels, although even then the details are hazy. While most dual-motor EVs operate the front and rear motors independently – computers determining in real time how much drive each should – Toyota simply says “the bZ4X adopts a new AWD system jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru”.

It’s unclear whether that involves a gearbox to apportion the power from a single electric motor or whether it will use a more traditional two-motor setup for EV AWD; the latter seems far more logical.

Human focus inside for bZ4X

However, inside there’s no shortage of tech and futuristic thinking.

A traditional steering wheel has been replaced by a yoke-style wheel seemingly inspired by an aircraft and similar to that showcased on the upcoming Tesla Model S (and the high-performance Plaid+ that has already had a big price rise before arriving) and Tesla Model X.

The open-top wheel is claimed to improve visibility and the sense of space and also uses steer-by-wire, whereby a mechanical connection is replaced by motors and electronics.

There’s also a digital instrument cluster that sits above the steering wheel, closer to the driver’s line of sight.

An illuminated section behind the rotary gear selector appears to be a touchpad to control the infotainment system, while

And, if we’re guessing the car looks to use leather-look alternatives to ram home the sustainability message.

Toyota says the bZ4X interior is “open and freestyle” with a human-centred approach designed to cater for a wide range of tastes and requirements covering all major global markets.

bZ is beyond Zero

bZ is the new EV sub-brand for Toyota that denotes “beyond Zero”, complete with a lower case “b” and upper case “Z”.

The Toyota bZ4X is the first of seven bZ models as part of a new sub-brand for Toyota’s electric models, which will also include EV versions of existing vehicles, including the 70-Series LandCruiser. Toyota is also building up its hydrogen tech that could one day be used across the large 4WD range, including Hilux, Prado and LandCruiser.

Toyota has registered the names bZ1, bZ2, bZ3, bZ4, bZ5, bZ1X, bZ2X, bZ3X, bZ4X and bZ5X for potential future use. The X is believed to denote AWD.

Toyota Australia’s Sean Hanley says future bZ models are on the hit list for Australia.

“Further ‘bZ’ series vehicles will be considered and introduced as appropriate for Australia in due course, expanding Toyota’s electrified vehicle choices,” he said.

Hanley recently told EVcentral that all future Toyota EVs would need to be fit for Aussie conditions.