New Toyota bZ Woodland for US Market

Join CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and high level summariesjoin our daily newsletterand/or follow us on Google News!

I’ve not made it a secret. I feel the Toyota BZ4X is among the ugliest automobiles I’ve ever seen. I’m actually dissatisfied with Toyota’s first try at a contemporary electrical automobile, and I feel the design is definitely an anti-selling tactic in order that Toyota can say folks don’t need EVs and preserve lobbying towards sturdy CO2 laws. US gross sales of the automobile don’t flatter both. It’s not on the underside of the pack. (It’s a Toyota — how may it’s?) But it surely’s not close to the highest. The BZ4X had 5,610 gross sales within the US within the 1st quarter, placing it in twelfth place. Honda’s equally late entry into the EV market, once more not particularly revolutionary or engaging, received virtually twice that many gross sales.

Now, Toyota has introduced an replace, a brand new however comparable mannequin. That’s the bZ Woodland. I don’t know if it’s simply the colour scheme, however I do assume this seems extra acceptable. It nonetheless has the bizarre overuse of black within the physique across the wheels (and Toyota doesn’t even trouble to spotlight this in its advertising and marketing as some type of cool, revolutionary design), nevertheless it one way or the other seems extra becoming and acceptable. May the bZ Woodland thus do a lot better than its BZ4X predecessor?

“The bZ4X Touring, the Japanese domestic model of the bZ Woodland is scheduled to launch^*1 in Japan around spring 2026,” Toyota writes. “^*1The partially redesigned bZ4X is also scheduled to launch in Japan the second half of 2025.” The brand new bZ Woodland is then alleged to arrive within the US in a couple of yr, within the spring of 2026.

Toyota spends a little bit of time within the information launch speaking about its “multi-pathway approach toward achieving a carbon-neutral society.” In different phrases, it’s nonetheless not all-in on BEVs. Nevertheless, with regards to the USA, the corporate does see this as a market the place it ought to concentrate on BEVs. (That one caught me unexpectedly.) “The US market is expected to see steady growth, primarily in BEVs, and US manufacturers have a high market share in BEVs. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen products. To accelerate the multi-pathway approach, Toyota is introducing the new bZ Woodland along with the bZ^*2 and TOYOTA C-HR as a BEV lineup to cover SUVs, a major segment of the North American market,” the corporate writes.

For the US market, Toyota is making the bZ Woodland a bit bigger and can be pumping in a bit extra efficiency. Listed below are some particulars:

New bZ Woodland (North American specs)

The brand new bZ Woodland makes use of lithium-ion batteries with a complete energy capability of 74.7 kWh^*3*4 to make sure a cruising vary of roughly 260 miles^*5 (AWD mannequin), thanks partly to the extremely environment friendly eAxle.
It comes with battery pre-conditioning^*6with a improvement goal of fast charging in roughly half-hour^*7 beneath chilly situations by sustaining the battery at a temperature optimum for charging.
It makes use of NACS^*8 because the fast (DC) charging commonplace.
The AWD mannequin adopts a high-output kind entrance and rear eAxle. As well as, the usage of an developed management system permits better freedom in distributing entrance and rear driving power, reaching glorious driving stability even in outside conditions.
The brand new bZ Woodland options baggage house with a beneficiant capability of 30 cu.ft^*3.
It’s scheduled to launch in North America in early 2026.

However, after all, Toyota has to maintain emphasizing that it’s not all-in on BEVs. The corporate provides, “Moving forward, Toyota will continue to address customer needs in each region and contribute to carbon neutrality by developing various options―including HEVs, PHEVs, and FCEVs―while striving to make ever-better cars.”

Oy. “Carbon neutrality” with HEVs and FCEVs….

Nicely, let’s hope the bZ Woodland attracts extra eyeballs and will get extra of a push than the mediocre BZ4X. Total, I feel it has extra potential for first rate gross sales and even perhaps breaking into the highest 10 of BEV gross sales within the US. Nevertheless, Toyota’s going to want to attempt laborious to promote it and put within the effort to enhance its specs and supply it at a aggressive worth, as a result of the US market is getting extra aggressive rapidly.