- Toyota this week began taking orders for its first electric sedan in China and announced that two more models will hit the local market next year.
- The bZ3 electric sedan, announced in October, received 5,000 orders on Sunday after sales began that day, according to Toyota’s joint venture with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW.
- Toyota has been relatively cautious about investing in all-electric cars.
Toyota is showing a new electric car concept, jointly developed with BYD and FAW, at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2023.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
BEIJING – Toyota this week began taking orders for its first electric sedan in China and announced that two more models will hit the local market next year.
All three cars are part of the Japanese giant’s bZ line, or “beyond zero” of battery electric cars. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by vehicles sold, has been relatively cautious about investing in all-electric cars.
The bZ3 electric sedan, announced in October, received 5,000 orders on Sunday after sales began that day, according to Toyota’s joint venture with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW. Deliveries will begin this year, according to an official WeChat account post.
The BZ3’s battery is sourced from BYD, and the driving range on a single charge exceeds 500 kilometers (310 miles). Prices start at 169,800 yuan ($24,643). That’s down from the starting price of 189,800 yuan announced in December.
By comparison, BYD’s Han sedan starts at 209,800 yuan. Tesla’s Model 3 starts at 229,900 yuan in China.
Prices for Toyota’s previously launched bZ4x electric SUV start at 199,800 yuan. However, the car has yet to sell in volume, while Toyota’s Rav4 was the sixth best-selling SUV in China last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
At this year’s Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday, Toyota unveiled the world debut of the “bZ Sport Crossover Concept” and the “bZ FlexSpace Concept.” The company said both cars will be launched in China next year.
The bZ sports car concept sedan is jointly developed by Toyota, BYD and Chinese state-owned FAW. For years, until the end of 2021, foreign automakers in China could not have full ownership of car manufacturing and had to work with local partners.
The bZ “FlexSpace” concept SUV is a collaboration between Toyota and state-owned GAC.
Toyota is also developing hydrogen as an energy source. The company said at the auto show that next year, its first factory dedicated to hydrogen fuel systems outside of Japan would begin production in Beijing.
Sales of battery-powered and hybrid passenger cars have increased in recent years in China, supported by government policies that seek to increase the penetration of this new energy vehicle category.
In March, that penetration reached about a third of new cars sold in the country, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Data from the association showed that Toyota’s wholesale sales in China through joint ventures with GAC and FAW exceeded 1.8 million vehicles last year. That’s on par with top-seller BYD and second-place FAW-Volkswagen, the data showed.
