Toyota Motor On Tuesday, a redesigned version of its only electric vehicle in the United States, with a simplified name and significant increases in EV technologies and capacities, revealed.
The new name of the EV for the year of the 2026 model is the “BZ”, cut off from “BZ4X”. Toyota says that the name change is to simplify it for customers, but it is probably a transition to the distance from the updated model of its predecessor.
The BZX4 received dull criticisms, especially from Motor Trend, which passed the vehicle as a compliance car. The vehicle was also recalled shortly after its launch for a problem in which its wheels could detach, leading to embarrassing titles for the company known for its reliability.
Toyota seems to respond to numerous concerns of the first generation EV with updates of the year of the 2026 model, including a 25% increase in the range of electric vehicles, up to 50% improvement of power and rapid load capacities.
Improvements bring the BZ closer to competitors such as Tesla Model y as well as General Motors' Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer EV.
Toyota said the BZ should start arriving in the US exhibition halls of its Japanese production plant during the second half of this year. He refused to release future car prices, which currently vary from $ 37,000 to $ 42,000, according to the model.
The scope of the EV on a single load is improved up to 314 miles, against 252 miles. The advanced power of the vehicle increased from 214 hp to 338 hp for all -wheel drive models, while front -wheel drive vehicles increase 20 horses to 221 hp.
Regarding the load, the 2026 Bz will be equipped with the wearing of the North American load system in Tesla, giving drivers access to thousands of high-speed charging stations at the national scale. Under ideal conditions, Toyota claims that the car will take care of 10% to 80% battery capacity in about 30 minutes.
The vehicle also receives an updated interior and outdoor style, which should help its competitiveness among an increasing number of electric vehicles in the United States, although American drivers have not adopted electric vehicles as quickly as some were waiting a few years ago, sales and the number of models available continue to grow.
US EV sales increased by 11.4% from one year to the next to almost 300,000 units during the first quarter of this year, according to Kelley Blue Book from Cox Automotive.
Toyota has sold around 35,000 BZX4 units since its launch at the end of 2022. It sold 18,570 of vehicles in 2024.