Excerpt from theguardian.com
Toyota has released details about its first mass-produced electric vehicle in a significant step for the world’s second-biggest carmaker.
The bZ4X is an SUV with optional rooftop solar panels that will be sold in both front-wheel or all-wheel-drive variants.
The public had its first look at the concept for the bZ4X – “bZ” stands for “beyond zero” – at the Shanghai motor show in April this year, but Toyota only published the details of the car on Friday.
The announcement is a step forward for Toyota, which has been slower to move into purely battery-powered electric vehicles than its competitors, relying heavily on hybrid technology instead.
While the car isn’t Toyota’s first electrified vehicle – that title was held by the short-lived RAV4 EV – it marks the first electric vehicle that will directly compete with industry rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq and the Tesla Model Y.