Posted on Dec. 2021 at 3:00 p.m. Updated on Dec. 2 2021 at 15:07
It looked like an anomaly. Pioneer and undisputed champion of hybrid engines, Toyota had until now refrained from launching a 100% electric car in Europe , in reverse of the eagerness shown for two years by its competitors to occupy this segment. The world champion of the sector will finally enter the arena in 2022, with an SUV heralding a large-scale offensive.
Presented for the first time to the European press this week, the new model was dubbed the bZ4X with little poetry. The acronym bZ (for “Beyond Zero”, referring to the absence of CO2 emissions) is to become a “sub-brand” which will mark the brand’s fully electric vehicles. “At least seven other models will follow” in the coming years, says Matt Harrison, CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, although not all will necessarily be sold in Europe. Capable of achieving the objectives in terms of controlling CO2 emissions set by Europe thanks to the weight of its hybrid sales, the Japanese giant admittedly had less need than its competitors to quickly launch 100% electric vehicles. .
“The right timing”
Despite this late arrival, the Japanese brand rejects any hesitation on the subject. “The question was never whether we were going to launch a 100% electric vehicle, but when we were going to do so,” says Andra Carlucci, marketing director for the old continent. We believe that today is the right timing ”.
The supply difficulties which have hampered production for months (in particular semiconductor shortage ) have however forced some manufacturers to push back the launch of new models . But according to Matt Harrison, these difficulties will be gone after the first quarter of 2022, at Toyota anyway.
The brand does not present this first bZ as a first attempt. “We have 25 years of experience in electrification,” says the boss of Europe, referring to the 20 million hybrid cars sold by Toyota around the world, even if their batteries were much smaller. The new SUV will have a range of 450 kilometers, and can be recharged to 80% in about thirty minutes. A sign of Toyota’s confidence in its technological expertise, the bZ4X’s battery will be guaranteed for one million kilometers, as long as the customer accepts a control visit each year at a Toyota center.
Photovoltaic roof
A roof equipped with photovoltaic cells, as an option, will allow the slightest ray of sunlight to carry out small recharges, which could represent up to 1,800 kilometers of driving over a year depending on the brand. Among the other innovations, the possibility of parking your vehicle by following the maneuver from the outside on your smartphone, or a new direction requiring much less amplitude in the movement of the steering wheel.
The Toyota group is counting on this model to amplify its excellent sales momentum. It is expected to sell 1.07 million vehicles this year in Europe (including commercial vehicles), with a record market share of 6.3%. For 2022, with the end of the supply difficulties, it is targeting no less than 1.3 million cars sold and a 6.5% market share. Driven by the excellent sales of the Yaris and the new Yaris Cross (two models manufactured in France, near Valenciennes), the manufacturer already has a record order book, equivalent to four months of production.