Facelifted Toyota bZ4X Renamed to Toyota bZ in the US

The facelifted Toyota bZ4X is now known as the Toyota bZ in the US, featuring the same upgrades as its European counterpart.

Following its European debut earlier this year, the facelifted Toyota bZ4X has finally made its landfall in North America, but not as we remember it. That is because this all-electric crossover will be renamed as the Toyota bZ in the US, where it gets the same design and equipment upgrades as its European counterpart.

Starting with the visuals, the US-bound bZ gets an enhanced version of Toyota’s signature hammerhead front end, featuring sharper LED headlights and more aggressive bumper intakes. Complementing the refreshed front face are new alloy wheel designs with sizes ranging from 18 to 20 inches.

While the rest of the exterior remains unchanged from the previous model, the new bZ is now offered with a body-colour finish for its fenders, giving it a cleaner and more modern look compared to both its predecessor and twin across the pond.

Similar upgrades can also be found inside the new bZ, as it gets the same 14-inch infotainment touchscreen as the EU-spec bZ4X, which now comes standard on all trim levels. Other new amenities primed here include two wireless chargers, a 64-colour ambient lighting system, new paddle shifters to control the regen braking, and many more.

Perhaps the most important upgrade granted to the new bZ lies under its body, as this EV SUV gains significant upgrades to both the powertrain and battery setups. Starting with the former, the top-spec dual-motor AWD variant gets a higher system output of 338 HP (252 kW), while the single-motor FWD version now produces 221 HP (165 kW), thus making them 123 HP and 20 HP more potent than their predecessors, respectively. Similarly, the AWD model still benefits from the X-Mode function that improves grip in slippery conditions.

As for the battery, the new bZ now gets a larger 74.7-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that extends its maximum EV range to 505 km in the FWD. Said battery is also available for the AWD model, while the entry-level FWD variant uses a smaller 57.7-kWh battery that is good for 380 km of EV range.

Charging-wise, the new bZ has adopted Tesla’s North American Charging System (NACS), thus giving it access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the whole North American region. Toyota claims the NACS plug allows the new bZ to be charged from 10–80% in 30 minutes, although no exact numbers were given by the automaker.

The all-new Toyota bZ EV is expected to arrive in Toyota US dealerships in the second half of the year, with no indicative prices revealed for now.

Closer to home, the pre-update Toyota bZ4X was long touted to make its local debut, with its initial preview held way back in May 2023 by UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT). Recently, UMWT handed over a unit of the bZ4X to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) as part of its strategic collaboration with the ministry.

Could we finally see the Toyota bZ4X making its local debut soon, or is it too late for UMWT to enter the local EV market space, which is now dominated by the Chinese brands?