At the 2018 Beijing Motor Show, Toyota unveiled a rather interesting but simultaneously unassuming looking car, one that should already be familiar to many markets, including ours. The C-HR that was rolled out onto the floor last week looked unchanged, but instead of being propelled by a combustion engine, it sports an electric motor.
This new C-HR EV forms the tip of the spear in the Japanese automaker making good on their promise to launch 10 fully electric models in China by the end of 2020. So far, no plans detail the car emerging elsewhere, but we wouldn’t be at all surprised it will before long. Supposedly, even eager buyers there will need to wait until 2020, but a launch later this year or in early 2019 seems much more likely.
The other EVs announced alongside the battery powered C-HR include plug-in hybrid variants of the Corolla and Levin. Manufacturing and sourcing for all three cars will be supported by local concerns. Not only will they be made in China, but lithium cells and electric motors will be supplied by Toyota’s upcoming R&D and production bases in the region.
Information is scarce thus far as to how the specifics of Toyota’s new electric vehicles, such as how much power can we expect out of their electric motors as well as how much range will they be able to deliver before requiring a recharge.
These cars, however, will be the first full EVs to sit on Toyota’s new TNGA platform, which already underpin the Prius, C-HR, all-new Corolla hatch, Camry, and upcoming RAV4, putting some rough timeline from where Toyota might announce electric cars for wider availability.
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