GAC Toyota, which is a joint venture company between the Chinese and Japanese carmaker giants, has revealed its latest electric vehicle (EV) for China.
The Toyota bZ7 is a new large electric sedan that’s set to launch in China later in 2025.
This new EV is part of Toyota’s beyond zero (bZ) family of EVs that includes the likes of the bZ4X that’s already offered in New Zealand, as well as the forthcoming bZ4X Touring.
GAC Toyota makes another bZ vehicle uniquely for China however, the bZ3X which is a smaller electric SUV.
There’s also the bZ3 small electric SUV and bZ5 electric crossover which were both co-developed by Toyota and BYD, and are produced by FAW Toyota, yet another Chinese joint venture company.
The bZ7 is by far the longest of any Toyota bZ vehicle to date. According to a Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) filing published by Car News China, it measures in at 5130mm long, 1965mm wide and 1506mm tall with a 3020mm wheelbase.
This makes this new Toyota electric sedan around the same size as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Power comes from a single electric motor which produces 207kW. Top speed is 180km/h.
This electric motor is fed by a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery sourced from CALB-Tech. At this stage the battery capacity, nor claimed range have been detailed.
On the design front the bZ7 has Toyota’s now signature C-shaped LED daytime running light set-up with the main headlight now mounted in a separate unit underneath.
The side profile shows it has a fastback design with frameless doors, flush door handles and 21-inch alloy wheels.
At the back there’s a subtle ducktail spoiler, as well as a full-width light bar. It looks quite similar to the current Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) sedan.
Inside there’s a big central touchscreen multimedia system, trapezoidal digital instrument cluster, three-spoke steering wheel, electronic interior door handles and ambient interior lighting.
It’s claimed the bZ7 is the first car to adopt Xiaomi’s ‘Human x Car x Home’ smart ecosystem that connects the car to your personal devices and smart home products.
On the safety front there’s a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor which is claimed to support Momenta’s semi-autonomous driving technology.
At this stage it appears the Toyota bZ7 will only be for sale in China and right-hand drive production hasn’t been confirmed.
- Jack Quick, production editor.
