Toyota gives in

For several years now, Toyota has refused to sell full-electric cars.   The company was the first to produce a hybrid (the Prius) and have fiddled for years with trying to create a hydrogen fuel-cell car.  But the success of their competitors has finally persuaded Toyota to produce an EV.  The world's largest car makers, VW and Toyota are now (soon will be) producing EVs.  EVs have gone mainstream.

From The Guardian

Toyota has released details about its first mass-produced electric vehicle in a significant step for the world’s second-biggest carmaker.

The bZ4X is an SUV with optional rooftop solar panels that will be sold in both front-wheel or all-wheel-drive variants.

The public had its first look at the concept for the bZ4X – “bZ” stands for “beyond zero” – at the Shanghai motor show in April this year, but Toyota only published the details of the car on Friday.

The announcement is a step forward for Toyota, which has been slower to move into purely battery-powered electric vehicles than its competitors, relying heavily on hybrid technology instead.

While the car isn’t Toyota’s first electrified vehicle – that title was held by the short-lived RAV4 EV – it marks the first electric vehicle that will directly compete with industry rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq and the Tesla Model Y.

Toyota already produces the second-generation Mirai, an electrified vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The bZ4X will be launched in Europe on 2 December, with orders to be placed by reservation. It is expected the model will enter series production from the middle of next year across “all regions worldwide” – though the precise timing, price and variants available has yet to be released. Toyota expects this will form an extended range of 70 electrified vehicles by 2025.

Subaru helped developed the vehicle and is expected to reveal its own EV model next year.

It is anticipated the bZX4 will arrive in Australia by late 2022. As Australia’s most popular car brand, it is expected the model will help Toyota take a dominant position in the country’s growing electric vehicle market, as its competitors have been put off by a lack of clear political leadership in making the transition.

Hybrid vehicles accounted for nearly a third of Toyota’s total sales in Australia this year. The bZ4x will be the first of 15 planned zero-emissions vehicles offered by Toyota, including seven bZ models.

Both variants will have a top speed of 160km/h, and will come with a 71.4kWh battery offering a range of roughly 500km. Toyota says the 150kW DC charger will allow the batteries to be recharged to 80% in 30 minutes.

Solar panels can be built into the roof for use while driving or when parked. Toyota says these panels will add an extra 1800km of driving distance each year, while allowing the car to be charged when parked or where there are no charging stations easily available.

Toyota BZ4

Toyota BZ4 interior