On December 14, Akio Toyoda turned MEGA WEB into a future showroom, unveiling 16 BEV electric vehicles in one go. Covering cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, sports cars, MPVs and K-Cars, etc., the mainstream and non-mainstream car types on the market are almost exhaustive.
Akio Toyoda also announced the latest electrification plan, that is, Toyota will launch 30 electric vehicles by 2030, forming a sales scale of 3.5 million new energy vehicles and officially starting the transition to electrification.
Just a few months ago, Akio Toyoda was still actively campaigning for the refusal to sign the "oil ban" climate pact, repeatedly stressing that electric vehicles are not environmentally friendly, and seems to be a staunch opponent of electrification.
At this exhibition, Akio Toyoda is also gushing, "carbon reduction car", "carbon neutral car" these new concepts we will not discuss. The president might as well take this opportunity to talk to everyone about what Toyota's electrification will look like and what kind of new cars will be launched, and maybe this is what everyone cares about most.
"Bi Feng" joined forces, and I have it in the world
At this BEV SHOW, Toyota unveiled four new bZ series cars in one go, namely bZ Small Crossover (Crossover), bZ SDN (sedan), bZ Compact SUV (compact SUV) and bZ Large SUV (luxury SUV), which also stood in the most prominent position.
However, the president would like to talk to you most about the bZ SDN, which has been confirmed to be the first car jointly developed by Toyota and BYD.
Let's take a look at the shape first, which is a very typical car design, and the sense of science and technology is also created well. Its design and shape are jointly completed by Toyota and BYD, and the three-electric system is developed by BYD, and the vehicle will use Toyota's latest e-TNGA architecture.
Why did you find BYD? The reason is simple, Toyota because of its focus on hybrid and hydrogen energy, has a relatively deep technical accumulation in nickel-metal hydride batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, or one of the earliest car companies to start the research and development of all-solid-state batteries. However, for the current electric vehicle popular lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries, Toyota's technical reserves are not as good as BYD's. In terms of building high-power drive motors, Toyota is also not involved in much.
Finding such a reliable technical "accomplice" as BYD is obviously more "cost-effective" than going it alone. Toyota itself has more experience in quality control, vehicle tuning and body safety design than BYD, and the cooperation between the two is complementary.
In theory, the cooperation between the two is quite complementary, but in practice, it is really difficult to say. For example, BYD has cooperated with Mercedes-Benz to byton Automobile before, and it was originally expected that BYD's technology plus Mercedes-Benz's luxury creation can kill in the market. But neither side took the project too seriously, guarded against each other, and eventually was quickly marginalized in the market.
Therefore, how the performance of the new "Bifeng" car will be depends on the sincerity and depth of cooperation between the two sides. For example, with the safety of Toyota's TNGA architecture, BYD's energy saving and strong performance, coupled with Toyota's solid adjustment, it will naturally not worry about selling. If they just take some backward technology out, most of the market will not accept it.
The "bullet" is resurrected to win over Xena and Alpha
At the press conference, Toyota confirmed that it would launch an electric MPV model, but did not say what kind of car it was. However, the Japanese media has long been unable to bear, a few days ago, the Japanese automotive media BESTCAR has revealed that Toyota will resurrect the ESTIMA model, and will use pure electric power.
The name ESTIMA may not be familiar to everyone, in fact, it is the Japanese version of Privia's car name, which is also called "Big Bully" or "Bullet Head".
Speaking of "bullet heads", that is the memory of many Chinese people about high-end MPVs. As early as the 90s, it had entered the country in the form of imports, because its front end resembled a bullet and got its name, and because its huge body was unique in that era, everyone liked to call it "Big Bully".
Privia is a natural driver's car, it is based on the mid-mounted rear-drive platform, has a 50:50 front and rear weight ratio, and has used the front double wishbone, rear multi-link front and rear independent suspension, driving texture is very good. At the same time, it also uses the design of the short car head and the front A-pillar to maximize the space, which can be called the pioneer of modern MPV, and this design concept has also been influential to this day.
Of course, the price was also very expensive, and in those days Privia was a complete status symbol.
This new car can be revived, with its previous accumulation of word of mouth, and is "reset" in such a "tide" way of electrification, I believe it will set off a lot of waves in China. It may have a big impact on the existing MPV market, after all, if it is true that the seniority is discussed, Xena and Alpha can only be regarded as latecomers to Privia.
K-car entered China and taught Hongguang MINI to build cars
At Toyota's pure electric vehicle strategy conference, they also unveiled a new K-car sports car, the SPORTS EV, which demonstrated Toyota's understanding of the future of sporty models.
Japan has always had a strong K-car tradition, this length, width and height of no more than 3400 * 1480 * 2000mm, the load capacity of no more than 350kg of scooter, is very popular in Japan. They are smaller than The Chery QQ, BYD F0 and other mini cars, but the space optimization is very good, and the configuration is also quite high, such as the Honda N-BOX, which is very popular in Japan, with 6 airbags, active brakes, and even seat heating, which is a real sparrow although it is small and complete.
In fact, Chinese people like this kind of car has always been quite a lot, after all, it is easy to drive, easy to park, energy saving. But helplessly, the country can not buy a decent car, the domestic basically is the smaller the car, the lower the configuration. Of course, there is another reason, that is, K-car is equipped with a small engine below 0.66L, although the fuel saving ability is excellent, the power is enough, but the cost is not low, the same price, K-car this size of the car is not competitive enough in the country.
In the era of electrification, K-car's competitiveness has been activated again. Because of the "drying" of the ultra-small displacement engine, the cost of the electric K-car can be further reduced, coupled with excellent safety design, space optimization and handling tuning, it is undoubtedly very attractive. For domestic manufacturers, they can also further learn how to build a car, if it is small and exquisite, not just "cheap".
If Toyota's electric K-car can come in, it will definitely be a good thing for the domestic market.
Lexus electrification, domestic production is imperative
At the press conference, Akio Toyoda also revealed another heavy message, that is, Lexus will achieve all-round electrification in 2030 and achieve 100% BEV model sales in China, Europe and North America. It also means that Lexus will become a completely different brand.
Previously, Toyota has unveiled Lexus's new pure electric coupe, which is the successor to the F series high-performance flagship sports car LFA, with zero hundred acceleration capabilities within two seconds, and the maximum cruising range will exceed 700 kilometers, which is said to be the target tesla Model S Plaid.
Although the car is still in the concept stage, it also reveals that pure electric sports cars have become a "new favorite", and large-displacement fuel sports cars are about to give way, even if the LFA is in short supply.
There is also another piece of information that Lexus may really be domestically produced. After all, the current center of electrification has shifted to China, the world's top 10 power battery manufacturers, China occupies 6 seats, BYD, Azura Power, CRRC Times Electric, Shanghai Electric Drive these motor companies, also have considerable influence in the industry. Nowadays, domestic chips have also made breakthroughs, and automatic driving technology is also developing rapidly. In fact, first-class electrification companies are either already deeply cultivated in China or regard China as the most important part of their global market.
Whether it is from a technical point of view or a cost consideration, electrified Lexus, there is no reason not to produce domestically, the focus must be shifted to the country. Of course, after losing the technical barriers of the fuel era, it may be difficult to think of "price increases" and expect Lexus to be as high-quality and price-specific as it is in the United States.
Summary of the President
In the face of the pressure of global electrification, Toyota finally did not "resist" and put forward its own electrification concept. Launch 30 electric vehicles before 2030, which means that there will be three or four new cars on the market every year in the next 9 years, which is worth looking forward to.
However, in the president's view, the most anticipated are these four models, "Bifeng" sedan, electric "bullet", electric K-car and domestic electric Lexus.
Especially the electric "bullet", will it completely stir up the MPV market? The president has been a bit impatient.