This new BEV SUV is set to sit on the new Toyota e-TNGA platform co-developed with Subaru.
Toyota has recently teased that it will soon be previewing its all-electric SUV next month. Set to be unveiled at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show that is taking place at the end of the April, this as-yet-unnamed SUV will be the first dedicated BEV to be produced by the Japanese auto giant.
Though not much is known thus far regarding this upcoming SUV, what has been revealed to date is that it will be similar in sized to the current generation RAV4. This upcoming Toyota SUV has also supposedly been tailored to specifically for the European market, and will be built at its dedicated zero-emissions factory in Japan.
Moreover, this new SUV is set to sit on Toyota’s new e-TNGA platform. Co-developed with Subaru, the SUV will be the first of six new EVs that have been planned to be sit on this new dedicated BEV platform, with the other 5 models proposed being a compact SUV that is to be co-developed with Suzuki, a crossover, a large SUV, an MPV and a sedan.
Speaking more about the e-TNGA platform, Toyota has touted the highly versatile nature of its new all-electric architecture. According to the Japanese auto giant, this platform is slated to be easily adaptable for a ‘wide-range of vehicle types and usage profiles’ in either front-, rear- or four-wheel drive configurations with ‘a wide-range of battery and electric motor capacities’ to accommodate for vehicles of different ‘width, length, wheelbase and height’.
As for the batteries themselves, Toyota is still continuing to invest in solid-state battery research with the hopes of launching a mass-produced model with this battery tech sometime within the next 5 years. On a more realistic front meanwhile, the automaker has also claimed that it will apply what it has learnt from its hybrid technology into its new BEVs to increase both its battery range and lifespan.
While on the topic of hybrids, Toyota is still baking on the petrol-electric powertrain combination to still be the bigger seller for the company for the foreseeable future. In fact, the Japanese automaker is only looking at only a 20% contribution from PHEV and fully-electric cars for its 5.5 million electrified car sales by 2025, with the other 70% of sales projected to be from hybrids.
So it could be said therefore while this upcoming e-SUV is certainly a big step for Toyota, don’t expect the Japanese auto giant to be transitioning towards the all-electric future that every other automaker has since pledged to just yet.
PRESS RELEASE: Toyota today confirmed that it will preview its mid-sized battery-electric SUV at the forthcoming 2021 Shanghai Motor Show.
First communicated at Toyota’s recent Kenshiki event in Europe, the SUV will be based on Toyota’s new e-TNGA platform, which is highly versatile and easily adaptable for a range of product types.
The basic architecture principle of e-TNGA works on the basis that key elements remain fixed whilst others vary. This approach allows variance in vehicle width, length, wheelbase and height.
e-TNGA can also be defined with front-, rear- or four-wheel drive and with a wide-range of battery and electric motor capacities to suit various vehicle types and usage profiles.
The versatility and flexibility of e-TNGA technology allows Toyota to design and create vehicles that are not just battery-electric, but also exciting to drive and beautiful to look at.
Shanghai Motor show will take place from April 21 to 28 (public days)
