Automotive News Europe — 2023-12-04
Automotive Industry
Toyota will unveil a new battery-electric small SUV in the first half of 2024 ahead of a market launch in Europe later in the year.
The small SUV will be joined by an all-electric midsize crossover with coupe styling in 2025.
The two models are part of the Toyota brand's plan to sell six full-electric cars in Europe by 2026.
Toyota showed concepts previewing the small and midsize EVs its annual Kenshiki media event here.
The Urban SUV Concept "gives a strong indication of what will be a key contributor to our brand sales here in Europe," Toyota Europe CEO Yoshihiro Nakata said.
The small SUV is being co-developed with Suzuki and will be built in India, a source told Automotive News Europe.
Suzuki unveiled the eVX small SUV concept at the Delhi auto show in January and said it would go on sale in 2025.
The production eVX would have 550 km (342 miles) of range from a 60-kilowatt-hour battery, the company said. Toyota did not confirm the co-development with Suzuki.
Toyota said the production version of its small electric SUV will offer two battery sizes as well as the option of all-wheel drive, something it offers with Yaris Cross hybrid small SUV.
The production version will compete against the Hyundai Kona electric model, which sold 30,525 units in Europe in the first nine months, according to market analysts Dataforce. Other competitors will include the Opel Mokka-e, Peugeot e-2008 and the coming electric version of the Ford Puma.
The production version's design will retain the chunkiness of the concept, Toyota said.
“It will be unmistakeably an SUV with a high seating position. Customers are looking for boldness from Toyota," Toyota Europe's head of product and marketing, Andrea Carlucci, told journalists.
The concept is 4300-mm long, 1820-mm high and 1620-mm wide, according to Toyota.
BYD tie-up
Toyota previewed the midsize electric crossover coupe with the Sport Crossover concept unveiled at the Shanghai auto show in April. The concept was designed by the BYD Toyota EV Technology Company, a joint venture established in China by Toyota and BYD.
The car will be launched in Europe by 2025, Toyota said, without being specific. Likely competitors include VW's newly launched ID7, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and the BYD Seal.
The car is "longer, wider and lower" than the midsize bZ4x, Toyota's sole current BEV model, Nakata said in Brussels. "It's for those who put style above functionality," he said.
Carlucci said it is 4900-mm long.
Last year Toyota showed the bZ Compact SUV concept that will become one of the six new SUVs in Europe by 2026.
The bZ Compact SUV has short overhangs and a narrowed cabin to improve aerodynamics and ride performance, and it would carry over a number of styling cues from the bZ4X.
Toyota said it will launch two more two full-electric SUVs to complete its line-up by 2026, without being specific.
By that date Toyota expects to be selling 250,000 BEVs annually in Europe, comprising more than 20% of its total sales, it said.
The Toyota brand sold just 14,240 units of the bZ4x in Europe through October, Dataforce figures show.