Toyota launches bZ3, its first full electric sedan, driven by BYD powertrain

Toyota has finally launched the new bZ3 electric sedan in China. The new model is driven by BYD’s battery and motor powertrain setup. This is the second electric car by the brand after bZ4X SUV was launched in 2022.

The bZ3 electric sedan is being sold on the mainland by a joint venture company called FAW Toyota, which is offering the new all-electric sedan in three variants.

The first deliveries of the new EV happened at the same time as the launch itself which is a bit unconventional in the industry.

Dimension-wise, the Toyota bZ3 is longer, wider and higher than the Toyota Corolla sedan currently sold in Australia, coming in at:

• 4,725 mm in length
• 1,835 mm in width
• 1,480 mm in height

Being an electric vehicle that is powered by BYD batteries and a rear-mounted motor, it’s bound to also have more space on the inside compared to the ICE Toyota Corolla. It also appears to have a completely flat floor which is one of the key features of electric cars.

Pricing of the new model starts at the equivalent of $A36,670 and goes all the way up to $A43,155.

For that price, there are two BYD-supplied battery pack options available. These include a smaller 49.9 kWh and a larger 65.3 kWh pack.

These BYD blade batteries can be fast charged from 30 – 80% in 27 minutes. For the 49.9 kWh battery pack, the fast charging speeds of 70 kW can be achieved. The larger 65.3 kWh can be hast charged quicker with a maximum DC charging speed of 90 kW.

The smaller pack is capable of going up to 517 km on a single charge as per the CLTC test cycle. The larger battery pack increases that to 616 km. The range on the WLTP cycle would be lower than the CLTC figures. 

Powering the BYD are two rear-mounted single-motor options. There is a lower 135 kW version and a higher output 180 kW variant. Both offer a peak torque figure of 303 Nm.

On the styling front, the bZ3 is sleeker than other Toyota sedan models with a low coefficient of drag which stands at 0.218.

After the model went on pre-sale last month in China, over 5,000 orders have been received according to FAW Toyota via their weibo social media channel.

On the inside, the bZ3 comes with a more modern floating gear selector and a large vertical screen which makes it quite minimalistic compared to Toyota’s previous models.

Behind the oddly shaped steering, there is a dash screen that provides the key driving information like the selected gear, speed, battery state of charge, range, cruise control distance and lane-keep assistance monitoring.

The new bZ3 looks like a promising vehicle and an EV sedan for under $A40,000 would be ideal in Australia too, if it can be delivered here at the price. Having said that, it’s unlikely that we will see this car in Australia anytime soon.