√2023 Toyota BZ3 electric car revealed for China, but Australia ruled out

Japanese car giant Toyota and Chinese electric-car specialist BYD are taking aim at the Tesla Model 3 a new electric vehicle – developed as a China-exclusive model.

The 2023 Toyota BZ3 sedan has been revealed for the Chinese market, with the Japanese car giant’s Australian division ruling out the Corolla-sized electric vehicle for a local launch.

In August, images of the Toyota BZ3 leaked online from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, displaying the new car – the electric equivalent to the top-selling Corolla, and a rival the popular Tesla Model 3.

The Toyota BZ3 is the Japanese car giant’s second electric vehicle under its ‘BZ’ sub-brand – following the Toyota RAV4-sized BZ4X electric SUV revealed last year – and the first to be developed as a part of a joint venture with Chinese electric-car giant BYD.

A spokesperson for Toyota Australia told Drive the BZ3 is a China-only model and is not being considered for a local launch.

The Toyota BZ3 is underpinned by the Toyota group’s e-TNGA architecture and powered by BYD’s ‘Blade’ lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology.

Toyota claims the LFP battery pack will lose just 10 per cent of its capacity after 10 years of driving, equivalent to one per cent per year – less than half as much as the 2.3 percentage-point annual drop-off discovered by Electric Autonomy in a 2019 study.

While the battery’s kilowatt-hour capacity is yet to be confirmed, the Toyota BZ3 can achieve a claimed driving range of more than 600km.

This puts the electric sedan on par with the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which has quoted 602km since earlier this year – however this is according to more stringent WLTP testing, rather than China’s lenient testing protocols, which the BZ3 is believed to have been tested to.

As previously reported, the Toyota BZ3 is expected to launch in China with two rear-wheel drive variants – an entry-level grade with a 135kW electric motor and 16-inch wheels, plus a 179kW flagship with 18-inch wheels.

The Toyota BZ3 is 4725mm long, 1835mm wide and 1475mm high – 95mm longer, 65mm wider and 40mm taller than the Australian-delivered Corolla sedan – but rides on a 180mm-longer wheelbase than its petrol-powered equivalent, measuring 2880mm between the front and rear axles.

The BZ3’s interior is unique compared to the Corolla and BZ4X, with its digital instrument cluster mounted close to the windscreen, ahead of the rectangular steering wheel.

A vertically-mounted touchscreen incorporates the controls for the Toyota BZ3’s infotainment and climate control systems, sitting in front of a rotary gear selector.

Earlier reports suggest the Toyota BZ3 may be priced from as low as 200,000 yuan ($AU43,500) in China – about 25 per cent less than the cheapest Tesla Model 3 which starts from 265,900 yuan ($AU58,000).

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