Photo: Toyota
The electric Corolla is finally out in the woods. Toyota presented in China the bZ3, the company’s second electric vehicle designed to be one. Before the bZ4X, the company only sold or leased electric cars based on combustion-engined projects, such as the RAV4 EV. The new electric sedan is the first product developed in partnership with BYD.
Toyota only mentioned that the Chinese titan supplies the Blade Batteries that go into the bZ3’s battery pack. That suggests the motors are from Toyota, but this is not the information we got from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in August. Called TZ200-XS022, the electric motor comes from Fudi Power, BYD’s electric powertrain division.
According to the MIIT, it can deliver anything from 135 kW (181 hp) to up to 180 kW (241 hp). The motor powers the rear wheels, which can use 215/65 R16 or 225/50 R18 tires. The bZ3 weighs 2,215 kilograms (4,883 pounds) and has a top speed of 150 kph (93.2 mph). The Japanese company only confirmed that the platform is the same one that underpins the bZ4X: the e-TNGA.
We have been calling the bZ3 the electric Corolla, but some may prefer to name it the Camry on batteries. The truth is that it could fit perfectly as one of those vehicles sold in China with an extended wheelbase, which makes calling it a Corolla the most fitting description. As autoevolution readers have known since June, the bZ3 is 4.73 meters (186.2 in) long, 1.84 m (72.4 in) wide, and 1.48 m (58.3 in) tall, with a wheelbase of 2.88 m (113.4 in).
The Corolla is 4.63 m (182.3 in) long, 1.780 m (70.1 in) wide, 1.46 m (57.3 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.70 m (106.3 in), while the Camry is 4.89 m long (192.7 in), 1.84 m (72.4 in), 1.45 m (56.9 in) tall, and a wheelbase of 2.82 m (111.2 in). As you can now compare, the bZ3 is longer than the Corolla, shorter than the Camry, and has a wheelbase that is second only to the Toyota Century’s (3.09 m, or 122 in).
Toyota did not share much more about the new electric sedan. It only said that it seats five people (predictably), has a CLTC range of more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) and a drag coefficient of 0.218. Without its frontal area, that is just an interesting detail. The car will offer a battery pack warranty of 90% retention for ten years, just like that one in the bZ4X. However, the Japanese carmaker did not disclose if it will have a mileage limit like the electric crossover does. With the bZ4X, it is ten years or 240,000 km (150,000 mi). It only said that "the 90% battery capacity retention rate after ten years is not guaranteed under all conditions." We are yet to discover the exceptions.
Toyota will make the bZ3 in China with its joint venture partner, FAW, but it did not disclose when deliveries will start or how much the electric Corolla will cost. It would be nice if Toyota were willing to share if it has international plans for the bZ3, but we will probably only learn about that when the Japanese carmaker starts exporting some units.
According to the MIIT, it can deliver anything from 135 kW (181 hp) to up to 180 kW (241 hp). The motor powers the rear wheels, which can use 215/65 R16 or 225/50 R18 tires. The bZ3 weighs 2,215 kilograms (4,883 pounds) and has a top speed of 150 kph (93.2 mph). The Japanese company only confirmed that the platform is the same one that underpins the bZ4X: the e-TNGA.
We have been calling the bZ3 the electric Corolla, but some may prefer to name it the Camry on batteries. The truth is that it could fit perfectly as one of those vehicles sold in China with an extended wheelbase, which makes calling it a Corolla the most fitting description. As autoevolution readers have known since June, the bZ3 is 4.73 meters (186.2 in) long, 1.84 m (72.4 in) wide, and 1.48 m (58.3 in) tall, with a wheelbase of 2.88 m (113.4 in).
The Corolla is 4.63 m (182.3 in) long, 1.780 m (70.1 in) wide, 1.46 m (57.3 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.70 m (106.3 in), while the Camry is 4.89 m long (192.7 in), 1.84 m (72.4 in), 1.45 m (56.9 in) tall, and a wheelbase of 2.82 m (111.2 in). As you can now compare, the bZ3 is longer than the Corolla, shorter than the Camry, and has a wheelbase that is second only to the Toyota Century’s (3.09 m, or 122 in).
Toyota did not share much more about the new electric sedan. It only said that it seats five people (predictably), has a CLTC range of more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) and a drag coefficient of 0.218. Without its frontal area, that is just an interesting detail. The car will offer a battery pack warranty of 90% retention for ten years, just like that one in the bZ4X. However, the Japanese carmaker did not disclose if it will have a mileage limit like the electric crossover does. With the bZ4X, it is ten years or 240,000 km (150,000 mi). It only said that "the 90% battery capacity retention rate after ten years is not guaranteed under all conditions." We are yet to discover the exceptions.
Toyota will make the bZ3 in China with its joint venture partner, FAW, but it did not disclose when deliveries will start or how much the electric Corolla will cost. It would be nice if Toyota were willing to share if it has international plans for the bZ3, but we will probably only learn about that when the Japanese carmaker starts exporting some units.
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