Toyota, after BZ4X, has finally announced its second BEV that is temporarily named as bZ Compact SUV that retains zero emission and eco-friendly materials, with no compromises on dynamic performance and driving experience.
Toyota officially presented its second BEV under the bZ series at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show. The model is a compact SUV that comes with a futuristic front design.
Compared to bZ4X that resembles more of RAV4’s conservative look, the design language of the new model is even bolder, where the front sort of looks like the hysterically laughing Joker or a great white shark.
▲Sharp rear contour and taillight array at the bZ Compact SUV.
Toyota, as the leader in electrification, has sold 232 units of BEVs in the US market, and more than 88 units in Taiwan. Foreign media has once covered that Toyota, after the spinning wheel incident, was evaluating whether to continue to develop in the bZ series, or demolish the e-TNGA platform and develop a new architecture that would create more competitive EVs.
It is quite difficult to understand Toyota’s intention in announcing this compact SUV at this point of time. Most auto manufacturers, when announcing their EV concept cars, would overlap with more than 90% of their production cars in the past three years in order to catch up to this auto revolution due to the pandemic and supply chain issues.
bZ compact SUV looks sort of like a production vehicle, with similarities of bZ4X seen from lateral contours, overhang behind the roof, and the semi-open dashboard, though the central control and monitor will probably not come to fruition. With no details revealed on relevant specifications, it remains a mystery whether Toyota would still release the bZ series.
▲The floating center central control and curved central monitor are unlikely to come to fruition.
Toyota’s acceleration in replenishing BEV products in various product lines is believed to be a great help towards global vehicle electrification. Despite being the second model, it remains a small step for Toyota who plans to release 30 BEV models, as hybrid models are perhaps still the focus for the company, who just announced the 5th gen Prius yesterday. Toyota could be one of the few major auto manufacturers in the world that is still developing new gen fossil-fuel cars.
(Photo source: Toyota)