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Toyota's Upcoming "bZ3" Sedan Takes Aim At The Tesla Model 3
https://insideevs.com ^ | Sep 22, 2022 at 1:19pm ET By: Steven Loveday

Posted on 09/22/2022 1:20:17 PM PDT by Red Badger

The Toyota electric sedan will begin its journey in China, with European sales likely to follow in 2024.

Toyota has made it clear time and time again that it has no interest in rushing into fully electric cars. However, it will listen to its customers and follow the market's needs. In order to chip away at some of Tesla's growing market share in China and Europe, the Japanese automaker is ready to bring its fully electric sedan to market.

As Toyota slowly moves forward with EVs, it has developed its own proprietary global platform that's designed for electric cars from the ground up. The E-TNGA platform will serve as the foundation for a number of Toyota electric vehicles going forward.

The first fully electric Toyota vehicle on the E-TNGA platform is the bZ4X compact SUV. The automaker actually already started delivering the new model, however, there's now a global delay to the launch of the electric crossover due to a recall for a wheel-mounting concern.

According to Autocar, Toyota CEO and president Akio Toyoda shared last year that the bZ4X would be followed by a long list of future Toyota EVs. One such vehicle was known as the bZ Sedan when it was still a concept, though the publication believes Toyota will officially call it the bZ3.

The Toyota bZ3 electric sedan will enter the Chinese EV market soon. It's expected to perform well in China since there's a high demand for sporty sedans. Sales in Europe are expected to begin as early as 2024. There are currently several new electric models working to take market share away from Tesla, and the bZ3 will join the bandwagon to rival the Tesla Model 3.

According to information published on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website, the bZ3 will be available with two powertrains making either 178 or 238 bhp. The EV will weigh 1710-1840 kg and have a top speed limited to 99 mph.

It's also important to note that thanks to Toyota's partnership with BYD, the bZ3 is expected to employ the company's Blade lithium iron phosphate battery tech. The battery tech is reported to have a high energy density while being safer than other chemistries. With energy-dense batteries, the battery pack can be smaller, which allows for more interior space.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society; Sports; Travel
KEYWORDS: automotive; bz4x; hybrids; toyota; twofaced; youaskedforit
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To: bert

sooo, they make their super reliable cars wicked ugly to boost sales?
i thought so..


41 posted on 09/23/2022 11:47:58 AM PDT by mowowie
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To: mowowie

No, people not hung up on archaic style buy their cars because they very high quality.


42 posted on 09/23/2022 11:51:40 AM PDT by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Juneteenth is inequality day)
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To: KierkegaardMAN

Your data is a little stale

Battery life has a warrantee of 8 years
https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-warranty

Companies like ABTC, (American Battery Technology Co), Redwood, And others are being built today to recover the materials used in the batteries. Lithium is now $70k/metric ton, Nickle is $25k, Cobalt is over $80k. You seriously believe they are going to a dump?

The bodies are usually Aluminum, so that’s recovered. Plus there is copper that is valuable.

Don’t want an EV? It’s your money, your choice. They aren’t for everyone, but they are getting better and better


43 posted on 09/23/2022 1:30:43 PM PDT by Hodar (A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)
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To: Hodar

Can you discuss the claim that it takes FIVE times the energy to build an EV? Or that the average cost of an EV is 60k plus vs 30k for a fossil fueled vehicles? And after eight years where do we deposit the barge loads of spent batteries?


44 posted on 09/23/2022 2:45:56 PM PDT by KierkegaardMAN (I never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.)
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To: KierkegaardMAN

Given the alloys involved in the ICE (molybdenum in rear transfer), the Cobalt and Iridium, Arsenic in the semiconductors, titanium in the rings, multiple fluids (cooling, automatic transmission, power steering, brakes, fuel) etc. I question the 5x claim of energy requirements.

Battery chemistries are changing - with CATL coming out with a newer battery type boasting 600 mile range and 200 mile charge in 5 minutes for 2023. We also have a lithium Sulfate chemistry that looks promising. I have a part time job working in battery chemistries. That is how I made my first million; and I expect to earn quite a bit more in this investment

That said, I currently drive a 2003 Tacoma and a 2011 Lexus. Both iCE, but I am planning on getting new EVs shortly. My daily commute is 65 miles each way; so the economics of EV (FOR ME), make sense.

Are they the right solution for everyone? Nope. But when the first Ford came out: they only took a decade or two to displace the horse and carriage. We have see more progress in the last decade on battery technology than we have seen in the last century. Toyota, for example has made remarkable progress on the solid state battery. But at the end of the day - everyone needs Lithium- as it’s the smallest metal atom possible. Which is exactly what you want on a battery


45 posted on 09/23/2022 4:40:08 PM PDT by Hodar (A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)
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To: Hodar

Very informative. Thank you.


46 posted on 09/23/2022 8:53:50 PM PDT by KierkegaardMAN (I never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.)
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To: KierkegaardMAN

My pleasure. In life, we all make decisions with information we have. I work in propulsion for a living, but have a side-job with battery chemistries and energy storage. The NASA job pays my bills, the lithium job is what is going to allow me to retire comfortably. So, that’s what I spend my spare time on.

EV’s are not a suitable replacement for everyone - just as the first automobiles could not replace the horse for decades. We are heading that way, but it will take a few years.

The biggest shakeup I see, is instead of a central, nation-wide power grid that is subject to catastrophic failures (one area goes down - everyone suffers), I see it becoming more modular. Which makes it more robust, more adaptable, and more powerful. That’s what we all want


47 posted on 09/24/2022 11:46:49 AM PDT by Hodar (A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)
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