The sedan was jointly developed by Toyota, BYD and FAW Toyota, with the motor and battery coming from BYD.
Toyota’s new electric sedan bZ3, which uses core components from BYD, was unveiled in China after the model appeared in a regulatory catalog two months ago.
Toyota China officially unveiled the bZ3, the second model in the bZ series after the bZ4X SUV, at a launch event on Monday.
The model is a midsize sedan, jointly developed by Toyota, BYD and FAW Toyota. It is based on Toyota’s e-TNGA platform, with the motor and battery coming from BYD.
The car measures 4,725 mm in length, 1,835 mm in width and 1,475 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2,880 mm.
For reference, the China-made Tesla Model 3 measures 4,694 mm in length, 1,850 mm in width, 1,443 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2,875 mm.
The model uses a single rear-mounted electric motor, which is available in 135 kW and 180 kW maximum power options.
Its battery pack is a lithium iron phosphate battery supplied by BYD’s battery business unit, FinDreams Battery, with a capacity of 49.92 kWh and 65.28 kWh, providing a CLTC range of 517 km and 616 km, respectively.
Toyota has not announced pricing information for the model.
On August 25, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a draft list of new models that will be allowed to be sold in China, and the bZ3 was included.
The model has attracted a lot of attention in the past few months because of its use of BYD motors and batteries.
In the fuel car era, local Chinese automakers usually had to purchase core components from foreign brands. In the electric vehicle era, things seem to be changing.
