Toyota teases its first electric SUV

Toyota is teasing its first battery-electric SUV ahead of the planned unveiling at the Shanghai Motor Show next month.

Toyota is a laggard when it comes to all-electric cars

Toyota has yet to launch an all-electric vehicle outside of China.

Despite the fact that the company announced an acceleration of its electric vehicle plans last year, the Japanese automaker has been focused on hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, and it has often dismissed battery-electric vehicles.

Last year, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda went on a rant about battery-electric vehicles at an annual meeting, and he spread misinformation about electric vehicles and claimed that it wasn’t a good idea to push for massive electrification.

The Japanese automaker is reluctantly starting to make its first battery-electric vehicles after its investments in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles failed to take off.

First Toyota electric vehicles outside of China

Ironically, the first electric vehicle that Toyota is expected to offer outside of China is going to be unveiled in China.

Recently, the Japanese automaker has mentioned launching new electric SUVs in Europe and in the US.

Now Toyota is teasing the first of such electric SUV in a press release sent through its European media branch:

Preview Of Toyota’s All New Battery-Electric SUV Confirmed For 2021 Shanghai Motor Show:

First communicated at Toyota’s recent Kenshiki event in Europe, the SUV will be based on Toyota’s new e-TNGA platform, which is highly versatile and easily adaptable for a range of product types.

The basic architecture principle of e-TNGA works on the basis that key elements remain fixed whilst others vary. This approach allows variance in vehicle width, length, wheelbase and height.

e-TNGA can also be defined with front-, rear- or four-wheel drive and with a wide-range of battery and electric motor capacities to suit various vehicle types and usage profiles.

The versatility and flexibility of e-TNGA technology allows Toyota to design and create vehicles that are not just battery-electric, but also exciting to drive and beautiful to look at.

Shanghai Motor show will take place from April 21 to 28 (public days)

Press days on April 19 and 20

Toyota shared the following image teasing the electric SUV:

Obviously, there isn’t much we can discern from the teaser image since the vehicle is completely covered and the press release mostly discusses the versatility of Toyota’s new EV platform.

We should have more details next month.