Toyota Overhauls Electric Vehicle Naming Strategy

2025 Toyota Motor Corporation Urban Cruiser Front Three-Quarter

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Alphanumeric vehicle names are de rigueur these days, particularly with luxury automakers, but Toyota Motor Corporation is bucking this trend. Going forward, the Japanese automaker will reportedly begin switching to real names, ones from its extensive back catalog.

2025 Toyota Motor Corporation bZ4X Front

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Toyota Motor Corporation makes its EV more affordable. It also launches the Nightshade Package to add dark accents to the vehicle.

What Does a Name Signify?

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Toyota Motor Corporation

The Capital T has some undeniably cool vehicle names in its current model lineup: 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Supra, and Tundra are just a few that spring to mind. But there are some real misses, too. GR86 hardly rolls off the tongue, RAV4 sounds like some sort of computer processor, and bZ4X , well, is it a vehicle you can drive or the medical billing code for a knee replacement?

Indeed, Toyota Motor Corporation’s first dedicated EV has one of the strangest names in the automotive world, and breaking things down does little to improve the situation. Implying zero emissions (technically, zero tailpipe emissions) “bZ stands for “beyond zero. The “4” represents the size of this battery-powered utility vehicle in Toyota Motor Corporation parlance and the “X” implies this vehicle is a crossover SUV. Make sense?

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Front three-quarters shot of a silver Toyota Motor Corporation bZ4X Limited

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Toyota Motor Corporation’s follow-up to the bZ4X has a much more conventional name. The all-electric Urban Cruiser was on display at the Brussels Motor Show in Belgium last week. This compact, battery-powered SUV is expected to go on sale late summer.

This Japanese automaker’s move to real names was confirmed by Toyota Motor Corporation of Europe's director of marketing and product development, Andrea Carlucci. According to Autocar, the company rep said this change of strategy is due to “a clear request from Europe that was very much heard and followed by Japan.” As such, he added that the bZ4X will “remain a bit isolated” in Toyota Motor Corporation’s sprawling model range. This strongly suggests the automaker will be using real names going forward.

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Say Goodbye to the Old, Welcome the Urban Cruiser!

Essentially a rebadged version of the Suzuki e Vitara, Toyota Motor Corporation’s redesigned Urban Cruiser will ride atop a new dedicated electric vehicle platform, one that avoids having crossmembers on the floor. This shrewd engineering decision provides more space for both the battery pack and passengers.

The Urban Cruiser will come with two different battery options: one boasting a capacity of 49 kilowatt-hours and the other reaching 61 kilowatt-hours. Both battery packs utilize lithium-iron phosphate chemistry, known for its durability and cost-effectiveness, although it is slightly less energy-dense compared to the more common nickel manganese cobalt chemistry. The 49 kWh version will be paired with front-wheel drive and deliver 142 brake horsepower, while the 61 kWh variant will offer both front-wheel and all-wheel drive options. As expected, the models equipped with the larger battery will provide more power, producing 172 horsepower in front-wheel drive configurations and up to 182 horsepower in all-wheel drive versions.

Along with its Suzuki sibling, the Urban Cruiser will be assembled in India. Autocar asked Carlucci whether these vehicles would ever be screwed together in Europe, and the company rep was somewhat noncommittal. He said, “the philosophy of Toyota Motor Corporation is to sell where we produce,” though that’s as close as he would come to a confirmation.