April 19, an international auto show opened in Shanghai, where representatives of the bZ brand, a subsidiary of the Japanese giant Toyota Motor, showed a concept of a new electric crossover called bZ4X. It is worth noting that this is the first car of this sub-brand, under which Toyota plans to fully engage in the production of exclusively electric cars. Actually, the name bZ itself is an abbreviation for “beyond Zero”. By this, the manufacturer focuses on the fact that the new cars of the subsidiary brand will be able to boast of a zero level of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
The bZ4X is based on the e-TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, which Toyota introduced in 2019 – it was created in conjunction with Subaru and implies support for front, rear or all-wheel drive. And, as expected, the first electric car received four-wheel drive, and the wheelbase of the bZ4X turned out to be even larger than that of the Toyota RAV4 SUV – thanks to this, the developers of the electric crossover managed to increase the car’s interior. Unfortunately, there is no additional information about the power of the electric power plants of the novelty – the manufacturer plans to reveal more details closer to the full release of the vehicle.
But the manufacturer showed the interior of the crossover – there, as befits a modern electric car, a large dashboard is installed (of course, digital), and the multimedia system boasts a decent diagonal. Moreover, the manufacturer refused the gearbox, and instead of the steering wheel, a steering wheel is used – Toyota designers were clearly inspired by the design of the updated Tesla Model S. However, closer to the release, engineers may well change their minds, returning both the gearbox and the usual steering wheel to their place. The manufacturer noted that the production model should be sent for assembly in mid – 2022, at the same time it is planned to release it on the local market and in the United States.