Toyota previews battery electric vehicles ahead of 2020 China launch

Toyota today premiered its C-HR and IZOA battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on the opening day of Auto Shanghai 2019. The C-HR and IZOA will be the first BEVs to be launched in China under the Toyota brand. Sales on the new models are slated to start from 2020.

Toyota is also showcasing a variety of electrified vehicles like the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) variants of the RAV4 and the Alphard/Vellfire in China, as well as the Corolla and Levin plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) series launched in March 2019. There is also the RHOMBUS (pictured below), a battery electric vehicle concept car developed by TMEC, Toyota's base for R&D in China.

Commenting on fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), Toyota executive vice-president Moritaka Yoshida said, "Since 2017, Toyota has been conducting demonstration tests with the Mirai in China. We are considering the local introduction of other fuel cell vehicles such as the FC Coaster."

Big plans for BEVs
Beginning with the China debut of the electrified C-HR and IZOA vehicle models, Toyota plans to roll out more than 10 BEV models globally during the first half of the 2020s, and is moving steadily forward to popularise electrified vehicles, setting a sales target of more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles globally by 2030.

As of the end of February 2019, Toyota has sold nearly 13 million electrified vehicles worldwide since the initial launch of Prius, a hybrid electric vehicle, in 1997. The volume of vehicles represents a reduction in global CO2 emissions of more than 103 million tons.
In November 2018, at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Toyota proposed a new mobility concept that aims to support peoples' lives through leveraging electrification, intelligence, and informatization, such as with the e-Pallete.