Toyota plans to expand its European range of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to six models by 2026. The automaker presented two new concepts, Urban SUV and Sport Crossover, which are scheduled to be launched in Europe in 2024-2025.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker by sales, sells only one all-electric model, the bZ4X. It aims to achieve 100 percent carbon neutrality by 2035, Engadget reports. Toyota has said it will launch two more all-electric SUVs to complete its line-up by 2026 – and plans to sell 250,000 electric vehicles annually in Europe by then.
The company’s two new concepts will join the bZ4X and the compact SUV it introduced last year. The new Toyota Urban SUV concept is scheduled for launch in Europe in 2024. It has an “authentic SUV design” inspired by the Yaris Cross, the best seller in its class. Urban SUV will be available with front and all-wheel drive and two levels of batteries – budget and long-range.
Toyota said much less about the concept of a sports crossover. It has the sloping profile of a fastback, which the company will position as a more refined alternative to traditional SUVs. According to the automaker’s plans, this concept will go into production in 2025.
Toyota Urban SUV concept
Toyota Sport Crossover concept
Toyota batteries
Toyota plans to release three new next-generation batteries in 2026 and beyond. The former will focus on performance, offering a conventional frame with double the range and a 20% lower price than the bZ4X.
The second battery will be “high-quality and low-cost”, will have a “new shape” with a bipolar structure, mainly using cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP). With this battery, Toyota plans to increase the range by 20% and reduce the cost by 40% compared to the bZ4X.
The third battery will be purely high-performance, using a high-nickel cathode and bipolar technologies. “An even lower cost and an even longer range are expected.”
Toyota also hinted at progress in creating the first solid-state batteries, which could appear in three to four years. Thanks to solid-state cells, the automaker aims to provide a charging time from 10 to 80 percent in just 10 minutes.
We have made a technological breakthrough that overcomes the age-old problem of solid-state battery longevity. A method of mass production is being developed, and we aim for commercialization in 2027-2028 with a production capacity of several tens of thousands of cars.”
– Andrea Carlucci, Vice President of Toyota Europe.
