As competition in the electric vehicle market becomes increasingly fierce, Toyota will launch five new electric vehicles in Europe in the next two years. Today, the company previewed one of the models through the Urban Crossover concept car. The new compact car is expected to compete with models such as the Jeep Avenger and Mini Aceman.
Toyota plans to launch a new range of cars starting in 2026 that will be based on the modular architecture unveiled last October and feature next-generation batteries that significantly improve range and efficiency. Andrea Carlucci, Toyota’s head of product development, said the boldly styled B-segment SUV concept “strongly signals Toyota’s position as a significant contributor to European electric vehicle sales in the coming years.”
Toyota will unveil the car’s full specifications in the first half of 2024 and take the wraps off the yet-to-be-named production version.
For now, Toyota has only confirmed the dimensions of the Urban Crossover: 4300mm long, 1820mm wide and 1620mm high. The car looks very similar to Suzuki’s recently announced eVX concept car. The two companies have a strategic partnership and collaborate on certain models, but Toyota executives did not disclose the specific relationship between the two cars.
It is understood that the Urban Crossover is built on a dedicated platform related to the e-TNGA platform used by the bZ4X SUV. The car will serve as an electric replacement for the current Yaris Cross hybrid model and will be the smallest electric car in Toyota’s lineup, “at least for the time being.” However, the car won’t be priced at the same price point as the Yaris Cross, with Carlucci hinting that there’s “a certain premium” for electric cars.
In order to strike a balance between affordability and practicality, the car will be available in two battery versions, of which the larger capacity battery is expected to provide a cruising range of approximately 250 miles (Note: approximately 402.34 kilometers), in line with the The city positioning of the car. The car will also be available with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive powertrains.
Carlucci stressed that the urban SUV segment is now the most popular in Europe, adding: “We have had great success with the Yaris Cross and we do not intend to leave any space for our competitors.”
The Urban Crossover, Compact Crossover and Sport Crossover concepts, together with the bZ4X, will make up four of the six electric vehicles Toyota will launch by 2026. Details of the remaining two vehicles have yet to be confirmed, but indications are that they will be SUVs similar to the RAV4 and seven-seat Highlander.
