Toyota has recently announced the Toyota bZ3, the second model in its new Beyond Zero (bZ) EV lineup.
In its quest for electrification, Toyota has recently announced the new bZ3, the second model in its new Beyond Zero (bZ) EV lineup, following the Toyota bZ4X. The bZ3 will be an EV sedan that is jointly developed for the Chinese market by Toyota, BYD, and FAW Toyota.
BYD and FAW are two of China’s biggest EV manufacturers, and China is currently the world’s largest EV market.
A good number of new EVs on the market are made to look futuristic, in a bid to make them stand out from their petrol counterparts, and the bZ3 is no different. Sharp contours and chiselled edges alongside the split headlamps and the unified LED bonnet strip are borrowed design elements from the Toyota bZ4X.
In terms of dimensions, the bZ3 is the same size as Toyota’s famed Corolla. Crucially, it is marginally larger than its chief rival, the Tesla Model 3.
The interior of the bZ3 has also been designed with Toyota’s ‘family lounge’ concept, whose design language illustrates cars more as communal family spaces rather than just a mode of transportation.
A ‘digital island’ sits smack in the centre of the car, which includes a large portrait-oriented central touchscreen and what Toyota calls a “tray-type console” that provides wireless charging and smartphone connectivity. All main functions of the cabin will be controlled via the touchscreen, with no physical buttons in sight.
The bZ3 is based on a bespoke Toyota EV platform, eTNGA. BYD’s main contribution is their Blade lithium-iron-phosphate famed battery technology that has been designed to retain 90 % of its charging capacity after 10 years.
Toyota has yet to reveal specific powertrain details like performance and charging times, but the carmaker did reveal that the bZ3 will have an estimated range of around 599km, putting it in direct competition with Tesla’s long-range models.
At this current juncture, we do not have news of whether the bZ3 will be coming to Singapore, seeming as it is only destined for the China market.
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