Toyota is late to the all-electric party, but it won’t be arriving empty handed.
The world’s best-selling carmaker will reveal its rival to the Tesla Model Y, an electric SUV similar in size to the strong-selling RAV4, at the Shanghai motor show in April.
Details about the car are hard to come by, but it’ll need to offer around 500km of range to compete with the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Volkswagen ID.4, and aforementioned Model Y.
Under the skin will be the new e-TNGA platform, which will also be used beneath a pure electric Subaru crossover.
Toyota has revealed e-TNGA will support front- and all-wheel drive, and will be able to house batteries of varying sizes.
If the Ioniq 5 and Model Y are a guide, the mid-sized Toyota crossover will be offered with a choice of single-motor and more expensive, more powerful dual-motor powertrains.
Leaked images from 2020 suggest the car will have an angular, cab-forward shape with lighting details borrowed in part from the Yaris Cross.
The car hidden beneath a sheet in Toyota’s teaser has similarly angular haunches and a sharp nose, although further details are hard to make out.
Toyota in 2019 revealed renderings of its six-member e-TNGA family.
Along with the SUV set for reveal in April, the brand is preparing to unveil a city hatchback.
The X Prologue (below) concept set for reveal this week will offer a closer look at a Yaris- or Corolla-sized hatchback, but details about what lies beneath its skin are hard to come by.
It’s unclear if the X Prologue previews a single production model, or whether it will showcase the design direction to be applied to Toyota’s upcoming EV range.
Toyota isn’t giving up on hybrids. In addition to rolling out its six e-TNGA vehicles by 2025, Toyota intends to have electrified versions of its entire range by the same year.
That goal will include both conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids, with Toyota recently introducing its first plug-in hybrids, the Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime.
