Cheap Tesla Alternative: Toyota Wants To Score With a New Electric Sedan With a Competitive Price

Toyota is late with its electric cars, but the Japanese carmaker has promised to deliver more than the only model bZ4X so far. The next model in the bZ series is scheduled to start this year. It could become a real alternative for a Tesla. Toyota's challenge to Tesla? This electric car comes at a competitive price.

Toyota wants to bring out a new electric car this year, which may even convince Tesla enthusiasts with an attractive price. An electric sedan is planned in cooperation with the Chinese manufacturer BYD, which now intends to conquer the German market - where Tesla produces the Model Y electric crossovers at Giga Berlin - with its own electric vehicles shortly. For the bZ3 from Toyota, however, it doesn't look like it.

Production and sales of the electric sedan from Toyota's beyond Zero series (bZ) are scheduled to begin in China in 2022 (source: IT-Times). The model is a step in the cooperation between the traditional Japanese company and the much younger group from China, which is increasingly present in the automotive industry - with success. BYD's Han model is considered serious competition for Tesla Model S and will also be available in Germany at the end of October.

Toyota's bZ3, on the other hand, could attack Tesla from the other direction: The sedan is to be slightly larger than the well-known Corolla and should therefore be in direct competition with Tesla Model 3. And Tesla will be put under pressure with a competitive price: Toyota wants to take 200,000 yuan in China. Converted, that would currently be almost 29,000 euros, or about 29,500 US dollars.

Tesla's price in China rose to the equivalent of around 38,000 euros at the beginning of the year. However, according to the first leaks, Toyota will not be able to match Tesla in terms of performance. What the range of the upcoming bZ3 looks like is still unclear. Since the bZ3, like the bZ4X, which is already available in Germany, will be based on the e-TNGA platform, up to 320 miles of range (or 513 km) shouldn’t really be a problem, as with the SUV.

The bZ4X is the only electric car from Toyota so far.

The cooperation between BYD and Toyota could have a positive effect here. "The Chinese are said to be responsible for the electric motor and battery in the bZ3," writes Felix Graber in Giga. There are hardly any further details so far. The bZ3 should initially only be offered in China. It is unclear whether or when Toyota's challenge to Tesla will be available in the United States or Europe.

Please, also see my newest story comparing the new Toyota Tacoma to Ford Ranger and discussing their strong points.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.

Image Credit. Chinese Ministry for Industry and information Technology, via CNEVPost.