Toyota has been accused of being late with electric cars. So far, the bZ4X is the only model on sale in Norway. It got off to a bad start when it arrived, with wheel problems delaying the launch for half a year and tests showing the range was well below what the factory promised. Sales have gradually picked up, and in recent months it has been the best-selling car in Norway after the Tesla Model Y.
During the next year, Toyota will introduce two new electric cars. First up is an SUV that is 4.30 meters from bumper to bumper and thus quite a bit smaller than the bZ4X.
BMW’s new super class
This means that it will also fit many Norwegian wallets.
Toyota’s new bestseller
For now, Toyota is calling it the Urban SUV Concept. The biggest competitors are the Volkswagen ID.3 (4.26 metres) and the Volvo EX30 (4.23 metres). Both of these electric cars are among the best sellers in Norway, with respectively fifth and fourth place in the statistics so far this year.
NORWEGIAN SUCCESS: If Toyota prices this compact SUV correctly, it will quickly become a bestseller in Norway and a strong competitor to the VW ID.3 and Volvo EX30. Photo: Toyota
view more
This underpins the belief of Norwegian Toyota boss Piotr Pawlak, that a car like the Urban SUV will be attractive to many buyers here at home:
– I think the Urban SUV will hit the Norwegian customers very well. We believe that the segment for smaller SUVs will constitute one of the largest markets for electric cars in Norway and the rest of Europe going forward, says Pawlak.
Reasonable price
100-mile car ready
So far, Toyota has not revealed very much about the technical details of the Urban SUV. What we do know is that it will come with both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. In addition, you can choose between two battery packs. We don’t know the size of these, but to be competitive the smallest should be around 60 kW and give a range of at least 40 miles.
A LITTLE DELAY: Toyota’s sporty, electric crossover will be shown tomorrow and is ready for sale in China. For Norway, it will take tl next year before it is in place. Photo: Toyota
view more
The original plan was for the car to be shown sometime in the summer, but when is this postponed to the autumn. This means that the first cars will not arrive in Norway until after the New Year. The price has not yet been determined, but Toyota’s goal is clearly for this to become a bestseller. This means that it has to compete with the two cars we have mentioned before. Then the starting price for the version with front-wheel drive must be around NOK 350,000.
The version with four-wheel drive we are guessing will cost from around NOK 400,000.
Shown this week
Get in line for this one
Already this week (Thursday), a slightly larger crossover will be shown as production-ready at the Beijing motor show. This is a more sporty car and something in between a regular passenger car and an SUV. It will still come to Norway after the small SUV. “Within the next year”, is all Toyota will say for now.
There is little doubt that this is a car aimed at the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. Like the Tesla, it will have both large luggage space and good legroom for those sitting behind. If it is to take up the fight against Tesla, it should also get a good battery pack and a long range. In the bZ4X, the battery is 71 kW and has a range of 46 miles. This new car should have a range of well over 50 miles.
80 mile range
Speaking of batteries and range. Toyota is working on a completely new series of batteries. The first of these will come in what Toyota calls “the next generation of electric cars”, which will arrive from 2026 onwards. It is a battery based on today’s lithium-ion technology, but has significantly greater energy density. According to Toyota, it will give a range of 80 miles, can be charged 10-80 percent in 20 minutes and cost 20 percent less than the battery in today’s bZ4X.
