Toyota’s all-electric bZ4X concept launches the Beyond Zero brand

Toyota bZ4X BEV concept

Manufacturer picture

Toyota unveiled the bZ4X Concept at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, its first all-electric SUV since the previous one RAV4 EV and one that the automaker says will lead its new line of battery electric vehicles. The bZ4X is closer to reality than most concept vehicles. According to Toyota, the arrival date is set for mid-2022. Although the automaker is keeping most of the bZ4X’s performance data below Wrs, it gave us a taste of its aggressive plans for an electrified future.

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With the debut of the new bZ4X concept and an electric sub-brand called bZ (Beyond Zero), Toyota is returning to the pure SUV-SUV realm. We don’t have any information about the drivetrain or the range of the vehicle in production form, but we do to do I know it will have all-wheel drive. The bZ4X is built together with Subaru and uses its AWD system. The bZ4X will also run on a new battery-electric platform that will be shared in Toyota and Subaru’s future line of electric vehicles.

Additionally, Toyota revealed a little bit about how the EV will be charged. With regenerative energy systems and a solar charging system, the bZ4X can charge itself when stationary, which, according to the car manufacturer, should offer improved performance and a longer range.

From the newly revealed photos, it appears that the double-row bZ4X pears are similar in size to the ones current RAV4 or Venza and will place five. It has a long wheelbase, short overhangs and a cover optimized for the new drive train. The interior of the cabin has an open design designed to maximize available space, with a low-set multimedia screen and displays in front of the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself is thrown off to reduce the need to adjust the grip while driving, and the conceptual bZ4X has a steer-by-wire system.

The bZ4X will lead the way for the brand’s future electric vehicles. Toyota aims to offer 70 electrified models by 2025, 15 of which will be purely electric and seven will come under the new bZ sub-brand. Toyota also said pickup trucks will be included in its plans, with both hybrid and all-electric drives in the works. The U.S. rollout and details are expected to arrive globally in mid-2022 and will be announced closer to their sale date.

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News editor Jane Ulitskaya is an outdoor enthusiast and canine person. She dreams of driving off-road with her blue heel while sitting in rush hour traffic. Email to Jane