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On October 10, Guangzhou Auto Toyota bZ4X officially launched five models: Elite, long-range Elite, long-range Pro, X-MODE all-wheel drive Pro and X-MODE four-wheel drive Ultra, with a price range of 19.98-287800 yuan. According to previous reports, the bZ4X is the first pure electric SUV strategically launched by Toyota Electric. The new car is handed over to FAW Toyota and Guangzhou Automobile Toyota. The two models are sister models to each other. The new car is based on e-TNGA architecture, positioning medium-sized pure electric SUV, and will provide both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive power.

In terms of appearance, as a newly developed pure electric, the whole vehicle design language is completely different from the Toyota fuel model on sale, the closed middle net is matched with the extremely radical penetrating type C headlamp group, and the lower encirclement adopts the penetrating styling design. the overall shape is very scientific and technological. In addition, the car uses dark trim panels in the front fender and rear wheel eyebrows, which forms a color matching design with the main tone on the car body. In the rear part, the new car is equipped with popular through taillights, and the black encirclement of the bottom area further enhances the sense of movement of the rear. In terms of size, the length, width and height of Guangzhou Automobile Toyota bZ4X are 4690/1860/1650mm and the wheelbase is 2850mm.

In terms of interior decoration, it is quite different from the Toyota fuel model, and a large area of fabric material is used in the center console area, but it has little effect on the improvement of the interior grade of the car. It is equipped with a 12.3-inch full liquid crystal dashboard, and the special-shaped steering wheel appears only on the top model. The large-size steering wheel of ordinary models is also very characteristic, and the steering wheel is covered with various function buttons. In addition, the dashboard and the central control screen are not on the same level at all, showing a different sense of hierarchy.

In terms of power, GAC Toyota bZ4X will provide two power forms of front-drive and four-wheel drive, the maximum power of the front-drive version is 150kW (204Ps), and the maximum power before and after the four-wheel drive version is 80kW (109Ps). In terms of battery life, the front-drive model CLTC condition comprehensive range 615km, four-wheel drive model CLTC condition comprehensive range 560km.

Toyota and other Japanese car companies have been conservative about the transformation of electrification, and Toyota boss Akio Toyoda has repeatedly blasted electrification in public. He believes that each country should formulate practical and sustainable carbon emissions solutions according to its own national conditions, and if a radical policy such as pure electric cars is fully adopted, it may lead to the unemployment of large-scale workers and be detrimental to Japanese exports. Akio Toyoda also believes that the transformation of electrification should be a hundred flowers blossom and that carbon neutralization requires a variety of technical solutions. In other words, Akio Toyoda opposes not electrification, but over-aggressive pure electrification.

Although Toyota boss Akio Toyoda has repeatedly blasted electrification, Toyota, as a profit-making company, has had to follow the market to make changes. On December 14, 2021, Toyota held a press conference at which 17 pure electric vehicles were displayed and a series of strategic target data were released at the same time. Toyota proposes that Toyota new energy vehicles will account for 75% of total sales in 2030, strive to sell 3.5 million vehicles a year, invest 4 trillion yen (224 billion yuan) in pure electric in 2030, and launch 30 new pure electric vehicles by 2030. In addition, Lexus will become a pure electric brand, achieving 100% pure electric in Europe, North America and China, and the goal will be extended to the world by 2035.

Since the trend is irreversible, Toyota can only fully catch up with this wave, and the bZ4X is the first model of Toyota electrification transformation, but Toyota electrification transformation is not smooth, and the listing rhythm of bZ4X is obviously interrupted.

In the domestic market, bZ4X, made by FAW Toyota and Guangzhou Automobile Toyota, announced the pre-sale price on April 28, and the final price was scheduled to be officially announced on June 17. However, after warming up the bZ4X with great fanfare for more than two months, two hours before the final price was about to be announced, the authorities suddenly suspended the launch, citing "uncertainty in the supply chain, delaying the price release in order to ensure the interests of users, and is currently working on a more consumer-friendly price".

Industry insiders believe that the pre-price of bZ4X is 22-300000 yuan, while the starting price for overseas (US market) is 42000 US dollars, and the price in the domestic market is actually lower than overseas prices, so it is unconvincing to directly cancel the release of major products simply because of price adjustment. On the day of the suspension of the press conference, a car commentator revealed on its social platform that "Toyota found in recent tests that bZ4X's battery management system could go wrong in cold conditions, resulting in a failure to recharge." However, the suggestion that the press conference was suspended due to a "battery management system error" has also been denied by officials.

In overseas markets, Toyota's bZ4X was recalled two months after its launch because the wheels may be separated from the main body of the vehicle. In the US market, Toyota will provide comprehensive protection to owners of recalled bZ4X models, including transfer, fuel subsidies, cash compensation, free charging pile renewal and extended warranty.

In fact, not only Toyota, but also Japanese car companies are not decisive enough in the electrified transformation. In the Chinese market, the only electric models launched by Japanese car companies so far are Xuanyi Pure Electric, Mazda CX-30EV, Guangzhou Automobile Toyota iA5, Guangzhou Automobile Honda e:NP1, Guangzhou Automobile Honda EA6, Lexus UX300e, Guangzhou Automobile Toyota C-HR EV, Dongfeng Honda e:NS1 and so on. The small number of pure electric models is extremely inconsistent with the overall strength of Japanese cars.

The backwardness of Japanese automobile enterprises in the field of pure electricity is the epitome of the backwardness of pure electrification of Japanese automobile industry. As early as 2016, people known as the "father of Mazda's blue sky technology" blasted China's new energy vehicle policy as "not environmentally friendly at all", which was interpreted as "Japanese companies are unwilling to leave the traditional comfort zone."

Of course, it is also understandable that if you try your best to transform pure electricity, you must give up the original track, and the cost and energy invested before will be in vain, but if you allocate resources to various sectors, taking into account pure electricity and mixing at the same time, it will also reduce the speed of research and development in the field of pure electricity. In today's extremely involuted automobile market, such a distraction may not lead to good results. Such a "dilemma" situation, perhaps Toyota and even the entire Japanese car companies, have to face.

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