Toyota Confirms Sport Crossover Concept Enters Production

BZ Sport Crossover Concept. (Doc. Toyota)

Toyota has showcased the concept of the bZ Sport Crossover Concept and bZ FlexSpace Concept, at the Auto Shanghai automotive exhibition on April 18, 2023.

The latest news is that the elegant Sport Crossover concept will continue to be produced for the European market by 2025.

Reporting from Autocar, December 4, this car will be one of six special electric cars to be launched by Toyota in Europe by 2026, sold simultaneously with bZ4X and production versions of Urban Crossover and Compact Crossover.

Sport Crossover is not directly replacing the current model but comes as a full new offer and brings the brand into the premium-oriented segment D, competing with Volkswagen ID 7 and Hyundai Ioniq 6.

Previously, Toyota's product development leader, Andrea Carlucci, explained that this was a "perfect style hero" of six existing electric cars, highlighting that the car is longer, wider, and lower than bZ4X but makes little sacrifice in terms of practiceality and comfort.

He revealed that this concept has a length of 4.9m but the exact dimension will change for the production version.

"I would say that this is aimed at different customers. We believe that the market is not just an SUV. Of course, it is the latest trend and will last a while, but we would like to offer a solution to each type of customer. This could be a solution for customers looking for something stylish, he said.

He also added that this car is a little obsessed with resilience, especially on the back with a coup or fastback design.

The Sport Crossover will be developed alongside Toyota's joint venture partner in the Chinese market, BYD, which is also likely to supply batteries, as he did for the bZ3 sedan in China, but Toyota has yet to confirm whether these cars for Europe will be made in China. Additional technical details are likely to be revealed by Toyota next year.

It is known that during the Auto Shanghai exhibition at the same time as the disclosure of the Sport Crossover Toyota also shows the Flexspace concept, this is an SUV that focuses on a comfortable, reliable family car, and is equipped with a number of advanced security functions.