Toyota Has Very Ambitious Plans For It's Electric Vehicles Lineup Starting With BZ4X. Is It A Competitor Tesla Should Fear?

Up until now, Toyota has yet to stamp its mark in the Electric Vehicle market. That’s all about to change as Toyota has just announced their BZ line of vehicles. The BZ4X will be the first model that will be released from this line and will directly compete with the Tesla Model Y.


The BZ is not exactly Toyota’s first attempt into mass producing electric vehicles. The company has done it before in 1997 with the release of the RAV4 EV and did it again with the re-release of the updated version of the RAV4 in 2012.


The difference between those two occasions and now is that Toyota is preparing to venture into the EV market at a huge scale with a range of up to 70 electrified vehicles expected by 2025.


The model that will be responsible for carrying Toyota’s name into the foray or electrified vehicles is none other than the BZ4X. There's a lot at stake for such a compact SUV and with that, let's immerse ourselves into more details about this particular model.


Let us dive into more detail about the BZ4X and see how it compares with its new rivals.


The BZ4X was first announced in April 2019 at Auto Shanghai. At the time, Toyota only unveiled the concept version of what was to be the first in a new fleet of battery powered vehicles now referred to as the BZ series.


The name “BZ” is the abbreviation for the words, ‘beyond zero’. This was seen as a reference to Toyota’s serious campaign in reducing the carbon emission and carbon footprint of their vehicles so that the company can be carbon negative.


The BZ4X is therefore Toyota’s first ‘beyond zero’ ambassador that will come out of the production line. As a car manufacturer, even before developing the ‘beyond zero’ line, Toyota has always been active in trying to produce eco-friendly vehicles that can be sustainably produced.



The testament to that longstanding vision was the 1997 Toyota Prius, which was the first ever mass-produced hybrid vehicle. Those who have owned the Prius and those who have reviewed the car all agreed that it was an absolute game changer.


Prius was one of Toyota’s global successes with the model’s cumulative sales reaching just over 6.1 million units by 2017. The success of the Prius made Toyota focus on the hybrid concept for a significant duration of time, and they have even gone to the extent of integrating the hybrid engine into their luxury vehicle brand, Lexus.


Now, Toyota has decided to make its mark in the fully electric vehicle segment by releasing an entirely new range of electric vehicles under the 'beyond zero' banner. The range includes Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Eclectic Vehicles, Battery Electric Vehicles, and finally, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.


Toyota has decided to not hold back in offering their customers multiple options in the selection of electrified vehicles. The lineup is expected to be fully completed by the year 2025 and the BZ4X is the compact SUV that is given the honor to kick start the lineup.


This model is borne from the collaborative efforts of both Toyota and Subaru in creating a common platform called the E-TNGA. It is a platform that was specifically designed for battery electric vehicles and to will allow the manufacturers to design vehicles of various types and sizes with differing battery capacities.


The platform will also allow the cars to be designed either as front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles. The platform is the result of Toyota’s experience and expertise in vehicle electrification and combined with Subaru’s engineering capability in AWD technology.


Due to the fact that the E-TNGA platform was a joint effort, Subaru would also be using the same platform to produce their own electric vehicle called the Subaru Solterra that is expected to be released in 2022.


Let’s move on and talk about the specifications and features of the new BZ4X.


The word from Toyota is the BZ4X will have a long wheelbase with a short overhang at the front. This immediately gives the BZ4X a very unique and distinctive design while having a cabin space that is comparable to a D-segment sedan.


What is different in the BV4X's driver's seat is the steering wheel has been revolutionized too. It has been changed in such a way that a driver would not need to change their grip when they turn the steering wheel while driving. The design also gives the BZ4X an extremely spacious interior even for the rear passenger seats.


Another innovative feature would be the steer-by-wire system, which is an entirely different type of steering mechanism that any other conventional vehicle. Steer-by-wire means that there is no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels of the vehicle.