The bZ4X, due out in 2022, is Toyota's first electric vehicle. According to the company, bZ stands for beyond zero (a reference to the goal of reducing carbon emissions); the number 4 represents the size of the vehicle in Toyota's terms, and the X means it's a crossover.
However, at the Brussels auto show, Mr. Andrea Carlucci - Marketing and Product Development Director of Toyota Europe said: "The company's new electric models may not follow the convention but maintain separate names in Toyota's product line to avoid nameplate inflation, to simplify for consumers."
So Toyota's second electric vehicle, the Urban Cruiser, has skipped this convention to use a name from the company's other product portfolio. The Urban Cruiser will be manufactured in India alongside the Suzuki eVitara.
Despite nearly doubling its bZ4X sales in 2024, Toyota is still lagging behind in the US electric vehicle market. Foreign rivals like Hyundai and Kia are growing and gaining ground. Even other Japanese automakers like Honda and Nissan are selling more electric vehicles than Toyota in the US.
Toyota boasts that its electrified vehicle sales will reach more than 1 million in the US by 2024, but that will be largely driven by hybrids. With 1,854 bZ4Xs sold in December 2024, total sales of the electric vehicle will reach 18,570 in 2024. That’s up 99% from 9,329 in 2023, but still a fraction of Honda’s 33,000 Prologues in 2024.
Nissan also surpassed Toyota, selling nearly 19,800 Ariya electric SUVs over the same period. Nissan’s Leaf, which added 11,226 units in the US in 2024, was up 57% from 2023.
