More budget affordable electric cars have broken cover in Chinese market than rest of the world combined. Toyota bZ3X just went on sale in China and is creating a massive buzz in the market as it is the first non Chinese brand to enter price wars in China. bZ3X is so sought-after, it apparently crashed Toyota’s booking system. Let’s take a closer look.
Toyota bZ3X Launched
Imagine a Tata Harrier size electric SUV that is starting at a price point of around Rs 13 lakh. Who wouldn’t want to buy one, right? That’s exactly the notion around Toyota bZ3X, which just went on sale in China. Offering a vehicle of this size with this much premium equipment at this price point while it packs an electric powertrain has turned out to be a masterstroke by GAC Toyota.
Launched under the GAC Toyota partnership bZ3X electric SUV went on sale in China recently and garnered over 10,000 bookings within the first hour. Influx of traffic was such that it crashed Toyota’s bookings system. Toyota bZ3X is offered in 430 Air and 430 Air+ trims with 430 km range from 50.03 kWh battery, 520 Pro and 520 Pro+ trims with 520 km range from 58.37 kWh battery.
The max 610 km range is from top-spec 610 Max trim which packs a 67.92 kWh battery. Prices start from CNY 109,800 (approx Rs 13 lakh) for base 430 Air and goes till CNY 159,800 (approx Rs 19 lakh). Air and Pro models come with 204 bhp single electric motor, while Max model gets a 224 bhp single electric motor.
Specs & Features
Toyota bZ3X measures 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, 1,645 mm tall and has a 2,765 mm long wheelbase. It has sleek LED lighting elements, large wheels, tough looking body claddings, flush door handles, chrome highlights, charging port on front right quarter panel and a blackened effect for roof and pillars. There’s a bulb on top of the windshield that houses car’s LiDAR sensor for autonomous driving features.
Speaking of, Toyota bZ3X packs 11 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars, 3 mm wave radars and a LiDAR. All these are controlled by Nvidia Drive AGX Orin X system. Other notable elements include 14.6-inch infotainment screen, 8.8-inch instrument screen, 11-speaker Yamaha sound system, ambient lighting, plush interior materials and cavernous space owing to its flexible seating layout.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
