LOS ANGELES — After a stumble out of the gates with its first-in-a-series 2023 bZ4X, Toyota is introducing a smaller concept with a similar shape likely to one day slide beneath the back-on-sale bZ4X in an expanded battery-electric lineup for the Japanese automaker.
The Toyota bZ Compact SUV Concept shown late Wednesday before the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show is roughly comparable in size to the Toyota Corolla Cross subcompact crossover, smaller than the RAV4-sized bZ4X. An earlier version of the concept was one of 16 EVs displayed behind Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda late last year when he laid out the automaker's battery-electric future. If a production version comes to the U.S., it would likely be sold as the bZ3X.
"We've only just begun to scratch the surface of the Beyond Zero moniker," Toyota brand head David Christ said in a statement. "With an aerodynamic design coupled with intuitive tech features never before seen in a Toyota model, the bZ Concept sh…