Toyota introduces an electric C-HR and updated bZ4X for Europe
Source: The Verge
Toyota announced updates to its European EV offerings, including an electric version of the Toyota C-HR called the C-HR Plus, and a refreshed bZ4X that addresses many of the electric crossover’s shortcomings.
The C-HR Plus is built on Toyota’s e-TNGA platform and comes in two battery options: 57.7 kWh with 455km (about 283 miles) of range, with a second trim with a 77 kWh battery that can power the vehicle for 600km (about 373 miles). Outwardly, the car has some noticeable differences from its hybrid predecessors, but keeps enough of the look to be recognizably part of the C-HR line.
The updated bZ4X — a naming strategy Toyota eventually plans to retire — will use the same dual-battery, e-TNGA platform setup as the smaller C-HR Plus, albeit with a slightly smaller 73.1kWh battery in the long-range version. Likewise, it has a lower cruising range of 445km (about 276.5 miles) or 573km (about 356 miles).
Those are some big range gains compared to the 2023 bZ4X, which our review concluded wasn’t worth its “nearly $50,000 price tag.” The long-range version of that model offered an EPA-estimated 252 miles of range, which isn’t far off from the up-to-267-mile range Toyota claims for the base model $15,000 bZ3X sold in China.
Toyota says the car will have battery pre-conditioning, something it lacked before, “with a development target of rapid charging in approximately 30 minutes under cold conditions,” which the small print specifies as -10 degrees Celsius, or about 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toyota spokesperson Rick Bourgoise told The Verge in an email that everything it announced today is for Europe and there are “no U.S. product announcements at this time.” But given how well the bZ4X has sold in the US, it seems likely these updates will make it to the stateside line as well. Both cars are due to be released in Europe in the second half of this year.
