Toyota Teases Electric SUV Before Shanghai Motor Show Debut

Toyota wants to finally speed up its electrification game with a new battery-powered crossover set to make its debut in April this year. The Japanese automaker has been at the forefront of the hybrid market for years but the automotive realm is changing towards fully electric vehicles. Toyota will respond to these changes with a brand new electric crossover.

Set to be unveiled during the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, the BEV high-riding Toyota will be based on the company’s new e-TNGA electric vehicle platform. The automaker says this is the same vehicle it teased in December last year and we have a pretty good idea of what it will look like thanks to leaked patent images (see below).

The manufacturer says the new architecture will be used vehicles with a front-, rear, and all-wheel drive with “a wide range of battery and electric motor capacities to suit different vehicle types and uses.” Not only that but the new underpinnings should give the engineers and designers more “versatility and flexibility,” which should allow them to make cars that “are also exciting to drive and stylish in appearance.”

The Shanghai concept is believed to be very close to the final production form of the model that it will morph into. According to previous reports, it will be manufactured in Japan at an EV-only factory. It’s already under development with the help of Subaru and should be launched, at least initially, only in Europe. When the final production model will be at the company’s dealers on the continent remains to be seen.

However, at best, we can expect Toyota’s first new all-electric vehicle to go on sale “in a couple of years” from now. This probably means the vehicle we will see in April will be nothing more than a concept serving as an early preview of the final product.