FAW Toyota’s bZ3 Model to Adapt BYD’s Motor and Battery

FAW Toyota, a joint venture between Japanese automaker Toyota and China’s First Automobile Works (FAW), announced on October 21 that the pure electric sedan bZ3 will be unveiled on October 24. As part of its ongoing cooperation with BYD, Toyota had planned to start producing and selling this small electric sedan loaded with BYD batteries before the end of the year.

FAW Toyota has already revealed what the bZ3 model will look like and feature in August of this year. The new car is built on the e-TNGA platform, with a length of 4725mm and a wheelbase of 2880mm. The size of this model is roughly the same as that of a Toyota Corolla, but the estimated price may be about 200,000 yuan ($27,596).

The bZ3 model adopts rear a single motor and a ferrous lithium phosphate battery, which are both provided by FinDreams Battery, a subsidiary of BYD. In addition, the catalogue of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the bZ3 will have two versions. The version with a long battery life will have a cruising range of 616 km under CLTC conditions and a power consumption within 100km of 12kWh. The standard range version will have a battery life of 517 km and a power consumption of 11kWh per 100 km.

In terms of power, the two versions are equipped with permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 135kW and 180kW respectively. The motor’s maximum torque reaches 303 N • m.

On July 19, 2019, BYD signed a contract with Toyota to jointly develop a pure electric sedan and a pure electric vehicle with low chassis, as well as the power cells needed for these products. These vehicles are planned to be launched in China by 2025.

SEE ALSO: BYD Blade Battery to Enter India in Partnership With Toyota

On March 25, 2020, BYD and Toyota announced that they had jointly established BYD Toyota Electric Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen, with each party contributing 50% of the funds. The joint venture mainly carries out the design, research and development of pure electric vehicles and platforms and parts used by the vehicles. However, according to local media Yicai, the joint venture has no plan to produce the bZ3 model. It will be produced in FAW Toyota’s Tianjin factory with an annual output of about 30,000 units just like bZ4X model.