On April 25, Toyota attended the 2024 Beijing Auto Show with FAW Toyota, GAC Toyota and Lexus brands.

Toyota is often criticized for its lagging electrification transformation, but as one of Toyota's most important overseas markets, China's electrification transformation is leading the world. To keep up with the pace of the Chinese market, Toyota brought two pure electric models "bZ3C" and "Bozhi 3X" to this Beijing Auto Show.

BZ

In addition to electric products, Toyota has also brought a variety of products that meet different travel scenarios to Chinese consumers. The new GR Yaris is brought to car enthusiasts and will be officially introduced this year; for those who enjoy pure hardcore off-road driving, Toyota has prepared a new Prado; in the field of barrier-free travel, Toyota plans to introduce pure electric welfare models this year. In addition, there is the Bozhi 4X Robotaxi, which was born for autonomous driving.

GR Yaris

As a global automobile company, Toyota has always been conveying an important message to the public: "diversity" and "freedom of travel" are the two key words for Toyota when it comes to future travel.

As the energy conditions and living environments of each country and region are different, Toyota hopes to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by providing multi-path solutions such as BEV, HEV, PHEV, FCEV, etc. Secondly, Toyota hopes to continue to provide everyone with the freedom of mobility (Mobility for All).

Adhere to the multi-technical route

Toyota does not believe that electric vehicles are the only solution to carbon emissions. Therefore, Toyota will develop BEV and HEV models in a balanced manner in China. It is reported that Toyota currently offers more than 20 hybrid and plug-in hybrid models worldwide, accounting for nearly 30% of its sales, which is much higher than most other automakers.

Thanks to the strong sales performance of hybrid models, Toyota has become the world's most profitable automaker. This year is regarded as the year of plug-in hybrids. At present, Chinese brands have an absolute advantage in the field of plug-in hybrids. There are no joint ventures among the top ten plug-in hybrid models. Toyota also stated during the Beijing Auto Show that it will strengthen PHEV models in the future.

This time, FAW Toyota announced that it will upgrade its hybrid technology again and release the latest three-stage intelligent electric hybrid dual-engine technology, which will be installed on all FAW Toyota models.

The new Crown (299,000-349,000 yuan) is equipped with a Multi-stage HEV hybrid system with a maximum power of 179kW and a comprehensive fuel consumption of 6.21L per 100 kilometers under WLTC conditions. The new Prado (459,800-549,800 yuan) is equipped with a 2.4T 1MT HEV super hybrid system that takes into account off-road, acceleration and environmental protection performance. The maximum power has increased by 18% to 243kW; the maximum torque has increased by 72.6% to 630N·m; and the fuel consumption has decreased by 15.8%.

Bozhi 3X

At the same time, Toyota is also accelerating the launch of pure electric vehicles in the Chinese market. Two models, "bZ3C" and "Platinum 3X", will be officially launched within the next year.

Create with like-minded partners

Toyota said it will promote the transformation of Toyota's business through Chinese-style inheritance and evolution.

In order to match the development speed of the Chinese automobile market and enhance local independent research and development capabilities, Toyota renamed the Toyota Automobile Research and Development Center to "Toyota Intelligent Electric Vehicle Research and Development Center" to create a new-era car that integrates software and hardware.

At the Beijing Auto Show, Toyota brought the LF-ZC concept car that carries the innovative concept of "software-defined cars". It can completely miniaturize and lighten the basic components, and can be assembled according to the best aerodynamic layout, with a long driving range. It is reported that this concept car will be released to the world in 2026.

Concept car LF-ZC

Toyota Technical Officer Hiroki Nakajima said: "To create a new automotive future together, we need enthusiastic partners who share the same ideals, work towards a common goal, and are willing to work with Toyota to achieve a better future."

In terms of electrification, the BZ3X was jointly launched by Toyota and GAC, and will be produced and sold by GAC Toyota; while the bZ3C was jointly built with BYD, and will be produced and sold by FAW Toyota.

In terms of smart cockpit, Toyota officially announced the start of strategic cooperation with Tencent Group. Toyota will combine Tencent's AI big model, cloud, digital ecology and other advantages with Toyota's software-defined car concept to jointly create new value for future mobile travel.

Toyota announces strategic cooperation with Tencent Group

In the field of autonomous driving, a joint venture between Toyota and Pony.ai is about to be established. The first phase plans to introduce thousands of 4X Robotaxi vehicles and provide driverless Robotaxi travel services through Pony.ai's operating platform in major first-tier cities, jointly promoting the commercialization of L4 driverless Robotaxi.

Bozhi 4X

"Cooperation leads to win-win results. This is the policy that President Toyota has adopted when building relationships with like-minded partners around the world in order to overcome industry challenges, and we will continue to adhere to this policy in the future," said Hiroki Nakajima.

at last

We live in an age where traffic is everything, and you have to be loud enough to be heard. Even sensationalism seems to be forgiven in the end. But is this really the right thing to do?

At the Beijing Auto Show, foreign executives stood at the press conference and greeted people in Chinese and introduced their products in Chinese. This is already a difficult approach to attract traffic, but they still spoke quietly on the stage. Before Hiroki Nakajima went on stage, his assistant repeatedly confirmed with him the position of the microphone when smiling. After he went on stage, he spoke calmly and passionately like a Japanese drama.

"Toyota wants everyone to enjoy the freedom and joy of mobility. There are as many values and needs as there are people in the world. The future is not determined by any one person, but created by everyone together. This is Toyota's thinking."

Compared with Lei Jun and Zhou Hongyi, this voice is not heard much, but I think it is a sincerity and culture worth sharing.