[ad_1]
DETROIT (AP) — Toyota, the top-selling automaker in the US, is launching its first all-electric vehicle in eight years.
On Tuesday, the company unveiled the battery-powered bZ4X small SUV, which starts at $42,000 and can go up to 252 miles (406 kilometers) per charge.
The bZ4X, which will be sold globally, adds to the 38 electric vehicle models currently on sale in the US, with more than 120 expected by 2025.
While it doesn’t have the groundbreaking range or performance for an electric vehicle, the bZ4X is an important entry because it comes from a trusted brand that will convince some buyers to switch from internal combustion engines, he said. S&P Global Mobility.
“You have buyers who are interested in checking it out but aren’t willing to try a new brand or leave to go to (Toyota) Chevrolet or Ford,” Brinley said. “As we move into a market where electric vehicles are more dominant, the response normally really entices ICE owners to try something new.”
The bZ4X is similar to the RAV4, Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the US that isn’t a pickup truck, and is slightly longer, lower and wider. This is Toyota’s first EV since 2014, when it last sold an electric version of the RAV4.
It is fast when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles like most electric vehicles. Toyota says the all-wheel drive version can go from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) in as little as 6.5 seconds.
Toyota says sales will begin in states with zero-emission vehicle requirements and then expand to the rest of the United States. The bZ4X will be on display at the New York International Auto Show this week, where press days kick off. The exhibition opens to the public between April 15-24.
Toyota said it plans to offer 15 electric vehicles by 2025, seven of which under the bZ brand, which stands for “Beyond Zero.”
When the bZ4X hits US showrooms in May, owners will likely have to rush to get the $7,500 federal tax credit that will make it more affordable. The automaker hopes it will hit a 200,000-car cap on loans sometime before the end of June.
Once the limit is reached, the credits will be phased out over the next year, reaching zero as Tesla and General Motors already have.
Toyota has largely hit the limit by selling plug-in gas-electric hybrid vehicles like the RAV4 Prime, which can go 42 miles on electricity before switching to a hybrid system that uses an internal combustion engine.
Automakers sold nearly 4.6 million electric vehicles worldwide last year. LMC Automotive, an industry consulting firm, expects this to rise to around 7 million this year and over 15 million by 2025. Still, this will only be about 15% of global vehicle sales.
[ad_2]
Source link