Toyota has unveiled its first battery-electric vehicle. TED WELFORD heads to Barcelona to try it out in prototype form
Toyota has led the way when it comes to hybrid cars for a quarter of a century and has produced more than 15 million electrified models to date.
But for a firm with such a vast amount of experience when it comes to hybrids, it’s taken a remarkable number of years for the firm to lose the engine and create a pure-EV. The wait is now over, though, with the arrival of the bZ4X. Representing a bold new step for the world’s largest car company, has it been worth the delay?
We’ve been to Barcelona to put a pre-production prototype through its paces, though it’s pretty close to the finished article – bar the funky disguise used with these test cars.
Make no mistake this is no normal Toyota with an electric powertrain squeezed in – this is a brand-new model based on a bespoke platform designed purely for EVs. It’s given Toyota’s engineers greater scope when it comes to the car’s look and packaging.