Toyota has been spotted testing a prototype for a new battery-powered compact crossover.
The electric crossover is the production version of the Small SU EV concept that has been among dozens of concepts Toyota makes its debut in late 2021. It is expected to be revealed in production form later this year or early next year.
It will likely prove too small for the US market. Toyota’s smallest electric crossover for the US will likely be the production version of the bZ . small SUV concept debuted last November at the 2022 Los Angeles auto show.
The prototype in our spy shots, although camouflaged, looks like a small SU EV concept. A similar design will appear on a redesigned C-HR that arrives around the same time as this crossover. The US will also miss out on the redesigned C-HR, which Toyota has confirmed will be offered with the usual plug-in hybrid and hybrid powertrain options. Toyota offers an early look at the new C-HR with reveal of C-HR opening concept last month.
Toyota Small SU EV concept
It’s unclear what platform the electric crossover will use but it is likely that Toyota’s new E3 design will be announced in 2021. The E3 combines elements of Toyota’s TNGA platform for ICE vehicles and the e-platform. TNGA is for dedicated electric vehicles, allowing it to support both ICE and electric powertrains. The new C-HR will probably also use this platform.
It’s also unclear what name the crossover will use. If it were part of Toyota’s bZ (Beyond Zero) line of electric vehicles, one name might be bZ2X. Toyota at the LA auto show said it plans five bZ models, down from its previous plan of seven.
