Toyota has been slow to embrace electric cars. Chair Akio Toyoda has, at times, criticized a single-minded rush towards EVs and instead touted a “multi-pathway” approach that includes hybrids and hydrogen cars.
But the world’s largest carmaker may be warming up that segment of the market, driven by China’s obsession with EVs.
On Thursday, Toyota rolled out an electric SUV in China. The 5-seat bZ3X is developed by GAC Toyota, Toyota’s Chinese joint venture.
Toyota has previously struggled to keep up with Chinese automakers in the battery EV market, but its latest vehicle is priced to compete with Chinese automakers.
The entry-level model is priced at just under 110,000 yuan ($15,170) making it Toyota’s cheapest EV in China. A model that includes an advanced driver assistance system that can handle tasks like lane changing and merging starts at 139,800 yuan ($19,279).
China is the world’s largest EV market, and competition among automakers—both startups and established manufacturers—is intense. Chinese carmakers not only compete on price, but now also include advanced features to stand out. BYD, the leading Chinese brand, went as far as to include advanced driver assistance systems in its latest model, priced under $10,000.
Peng Baolin, GAC Toyota’s vice president of sales, wrote on Weibo that the company received more than 10,000 orders within an hour of the SUV’s launch.
The company also said the car was “so popular that the server crashed,” according to Electrek.
Toyota’s choice of battery might have helped bring costs down. The bZ3X uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are more affordable than the standard lithium-ion batteries. LFP batteries, heavily used by Chinese carmakers like BYD, forgo some range in exchange for lower costs.
The new SUV comes just a month after Toyota announced it was building a new wholly-owned plant in Shanghai, focusing on Lexus batteries and battery EVs. At the time, Toyota said that its Chinese employees would lead development of the company’s made-in-China cars in order to better serve domestic customers.
“Our goal is to become a company that is more loved and supported by the people of China,” chief financial officer Yoichi Miyazaki said.
