Toyota and BYD are finalizing the development of one of their first joint projects, an electric car that will go on sale next year in China. The objective of the Japanese company with this electric vehicle is to stand up to the Tesla Model 3 in the Asian country, which has become one of the most demanded electric cars by the Chinese public.
It is unclear if this electric vehicle will correspond to the production version of the bZ SDN prototype shown at the end of 2021. However, if confirmed, this would result in using the advanced e-TNGA modular platform, an architecture that Toyota will only use for its bZ electrical sub-brand.
However, it is not ruled out that the Chinese model is an exclusive development for the Asian market, utterly independent of the bZ SDN project. In this case, the use of another platform would not be ruled out, be it Toyota's GA-C or BYD's e-platform 3.0, already seen in models such as the Dolphin or the recently introduced Seal.
What we can practically take for granted is that this zero-emission sedan will have the advanced Blade batteries from BYD in its guts; that is, with LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells and a CTP ( Cell to Pack ) design. This will allow Toyota to offer a more affordable product than the bZ4X, which uses NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) batteries.
Rumors suggest that our protagonist will be located by size between the Toyota Corolla Sedan and Toyota Camry. With just under 4.75 meters long, it will fall squarely in the same category as the future Hyundai IONIQ 6 and Volkswagen ID 7, which are set to become its main rivals within the general D-segment.
The arrival of this sedan in Europe is not confirmed. Because although it is practically confident that the Japanese firm will sell an electric sedan, it is not clear if it will be the Chinese model or if, on the contrary, it will be a separate proposal of character more global.
This new electric car will be part of the 30 electric models that Toyota will launch globally between now and 2030. With this firm commitment to electrification, the company wants to close the gap with the competition, whose deployment has been much earlier than that of Toyota.
