⚡Toyota upgraded bZ battery, increased run distance by 25%, sold 3rd best in the US, both at parent company also stepped on EV plan brakes.
Toyota upgraded the bZ battery, increasing its run distance by 25% to the 3rd best seller in the US. Both the parent company also stepped on the EV plan brakes on the entire board.
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The third-best-selling EV car in the US is now not a camp model that puts on a full-cylinder EV market, but a car from a company whose global executives have spoken publicly many times that they still don't believe in the future of all-electric trains. That is the 2026 Toyota bZ that has outpaced all other brands, leaving only the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y still superior.
The number that makes this interesting is that the new bZ battery has been upgraded to 74.7 kWh. This unit is an electric power unit that says how much fire this battery holds, the higher the number, the more power it has to drive, and the result is a maximum run of 314 miles, or about 505 kilometers, according to the manufacturer's specification. It has increased by 25% over the previous bZ4X that ran about 252 miles, although the battery size was not much larger.
The point that engineers have to stumble at is how Toyota can do this without stuffing batteries that are significantly larger than before. The answer is energy density or energy density, which means the amount of electricity that can be packed into the same area or weight. The new bZ models adjust the chemical formula inside the cell, reduce energy loss from internal resistance, and place the battery modules into less wasteful spaces. The result is the same space but more fire storage, like switching from a loose bag to a bag that packs the same items but can fit more.
Another factor in the additional running distance is that Toyota improves the battery's heat management system or thermal management to be more efficient. Lithium-ion batteries perform best in the right temperature range. If they overheat, they will lose power to cooling. If the heat management system is smarter, the energy used to control the temperature will be used to drive the car more, combined with slightly higher motor performance. All of these combined can increase the running distance by leaps and bounds without relying on a single battery.
The amusing thing is that Toyota successfully made this best-selling car, but its parent company in Japan slowed down its plans to expand the global EV line and repeatedly postponed the launch of the next generation of solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries are batteries that use solid electrolytes instead of liquids, making them safer, faster to charge, and have a much higher energy density than current batteries. But real production on an industrial scale also has high costs and persistence problems that are unsolved.
For Thais who are waiting to buy an EV from Toyota, this signal should be interpreted as double-decker. The first class is that Toyota has the engineering ability to make a good EV. It is proven by sales in the United States, not just following the trend. The second class is Toyota, choosing a middle wiring, not throwing out of the lap with an EV, all like Tesla or BYD, but spreading the risk of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs simultaneously. This means that Toyota's EV line in the Thai market may expand gradually, not explode all models at the same time in two years.
Thai consumers who are comparing EV specs should learn from this case that a single kWh number does not tell everything. It must be matched by the actual running distance and the energy consumption rate per kilometer. Because the battery is the same size but different cell design, the actual running distance is very different, and the running distance from the manufacturer is often tested in controlled weather. In Thailand, where the weather is hot and the air is used all the time, the actual running distance is usually reduced from 15-25%. Therefore, the claimed car runs 505 kilometers. In practical use on Thai roads, it may be about 380-430 kilometers per full charge.
Before you decide to buy any EV in Thailand, the question that you should ask the dealer clearly is what the running distance is tested in Thai weather. The speed of charging DC Fast Charge or fast direct charging that the model supports up to a maximum of kW. And the service center supports medical monitoring batteries or SOH. Because SOH is the percentage of the battery's power storage capacity against the new episode. It is the most accurate number that tells the value of the used car in the future. And it is important to ask Toyota Thailand's plan when this new bZ will come up for sale. Because models sold in the United States and models entering Thailand may not always be the same specification.
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