Carmaker Toyota has launched a new electric sedan in China together with its local joint venture partner GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group Co), the full-size bZ7.
First shown a year ago at Auto Shanghai 2025, the Toyota bZ7 has now gone on sale in China, where it starts at a very tempting 147,800 yuan, the equivalent of just US$ 21,500. How is it possible that a 202-in long large sedan with a 373-mile standard range costs much less than America’s cheapest EV, the 2027 Chevy Bolt that starts at just under US$ 29,000?
That’s something for the bean counters at Western automakers to determine, but as CarNewsChina reports, the price includes some subsidies by the Chinese state. The low price certainly makes the bZ7 attractive for Chinese customers as GAC Toyota received over 3,100 orders for the bZ7 in the first hour after the launch.
Toyota’s largest-ever electric sedan is similar in size to the short-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class, measuring 202 inches in length, 77.3 in in width and 59.3 in in height, with a generous wheelbase of 118.9 in.
Styling-wise, the bZ7 adopts a sleek, fastback-style body. The front end boasts a horizontal LED light strip uniting the C-shaped DRLs, sharp headlights underneath and a wide lower grille. The side profile features "hidden" B- and C-pillars, with the belt line rising abruptly under the C-pillars and a sloping rear window that ends at the edge of the trunk lid.
There seems to be a bit of a missed opportunity in this area, though, as the fastback design would have you believe the Toyota bZ7 has a liftback-style tailgate; tough luck, it’s got a skimpy sedan trunk lid instead.
The rear also features sleek LED taillights united by an illuminated LED strip mirroring the front end design, as well as a sculpted bumper with a diffuser-like element at the bottom.
As you would expect from a Chinese-market EV, the Toyota bZ7 brims with tech. Highlights include the Huawei HarmonyOS 5.0 cockpit, Momenta R6 ADAS suite, and the Huawei Drive One electric powertrain.
Huawei’s operating system uses a large 15.6-inch floating central touchscreen, with an 8.8-inch LCD instrument cluster and 27-inch head-up display also included. It is compatible with Apple CarPlay and offers an intelligent voice system, powered by Huawei’s MoLA large-model architecture, which supports four-zone recognition, continuous dialogue and multi-command execution; mind you, essential physical buttons are retained.
Interestingly, the bZ7 natively integrates with the Xiaomi in-car ecosystem, with the Mi Home App for the car system and Xiaomi magnetic Bluetooth physical buttons that will be released later. The electric sedan also comes with a Huawei StarFlash smart digital key.
The cabin also features ventilated and heated seats with massage function all around, while the front seats feature a dual-motor zero-gravity design for increased comfort.
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