Toyota Motor announced this Monday, October 24, the manufacture of a small sedan powered by electricity that will work with batteries manufactured by the Chinese BYD.
The new vehicle, which promises to revolutionize the market due to its price, efficiency and autonomy, will be produced and sold, for now, only in China.
If successful, it will spread to other markets with growing interest in electric mobility.
The Japanese automaker said that the car will be called Toyota bZ3 and did not give details regarding when it will be for sale or when it will be exhibited in some of the world’s presentation halls of new vehicles.
The bZ3 will be the second model in the series BeyondZero (bZ) of Toyota battery electric vehicles, which has been heavily criticized for not getting to market for this class of car faster than its rivals.
Toyota is one of the manufacturers that has invested the least in electric mobility, despite being, together with Volkswagen, the world leader in car production.
The batteries of the new sedan will be manufactured by BYD, the most important manufacturer of electric cars in China and one of the largest by volume in the world, a direct rival of Tesla in that market.
With the bZ3, Toyota would seek to change its position regarding electric cars
At the beginning of October, AkioToyodaCEO of Toyota, spoke about the goals of some brands to sell only electric cars in the coming years and the legislation of some countries on the matter.
Toyoda said that “electric cars are much further away than some think” and, of course, it rained down on criticism from activists and ecological investors.
Toyoda acknowledged the problems in moving faster in relation to electrification with reference to the US state of California, where a ban on internal combustion engine vehicles (including hybrids) has been established by law from 2035.
“In the same way that is happening with 100% autonomous cars, which we should all be driving now, electric cars are going to take much longer to become popular than the media wants us to believe,” said the CEO of the Japanese company. .
In the same line of thought, the Vice President of Sales of Toyota for North America had pronounced, Jack Hollis. The executive said that the brand does not believe that “the market is ready.” “I don’t think the infrastructure is ready, and even if it is, how many people will be able to afford them: they are very high priced for many,” he added.
Beyond these omens, in China, the electricity market continues to advance.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimates that the sale of electric cars in 2022 in the Asian giant will increase by 50 percent, to 5.5 million units.
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