Toyota bZ7 Revealed Looking Like An Electric Crown For China

Look out, Tesla, here comes Toyota? Yup, the brand that was just fine with not being the pointy end of the spear when it came to electric cars has just launched a new electric flagship. The bZ7 has a slightly better name than the brand’s other EVs, and its Crown-like design looks a lot better. What we have here is a genuine electric Toyota to rival the Tesla Model S. There’s just one problem…

The bZ7 was revealed at Auto Shanghai 2025, which gives you a good idea of where it will be sold. And the where is not going to be in the US.

Toyota Is Looking To China To Engineer Its Latest

Toyota’s new EV is getting ready to go on sale in China next year. The full-sized sedan was designed with help from the automaker’s partner in the country, GAC. Like many other foreign brands selling in the country (see AUDI), Toyota is leaning heavily on engineering in that country instead of its usual home-grown development. “Toyota believes that the localization strategy must shift from adapting to China to being defined by China,” it said. To follow through, it moved the decision-making from Japan to China, where it has integrated its four R&D centers into one that puts FAW, GAC, BYD, and Toyota under one roof.

But despite appearances, the bZ7 is based on the smaller bZ3 and not the Crown that it resembles so closely. This will be a big sedan, around the same size as the Mercedes-Benz EQE and BMW i5 (and, of course, the Crown), though even as a flagship, Toyota might not be aiming that high.

Toyota didn’t divulge planned power output or range. The bZ3 gets a 373-mile range, and motors ranging from 181 horsepower to 244, though this bigger car will likely offer more of both.

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The new bZ3C and bZ3X have been developed for Chinese customers only, and that’s a shame because they would do well in America.

In a press release full of flowery nothings and compliments to potential buyers, (“Toyota will continue to work with Chinese partners to contribute to Chinese society and make every effort to bring smiles from the heart to Chinese consumers. Through “Multi-Pathway” and “Mobility for All”, we will strive to realize the vision of “Best in Town” for a start), it’s tough to figure out exactly what Toyota is offering. We do know that Toyota has added all the tech it could find to this car, a measure we’re not used to seeing from the automaker that shows its dedication to the Chinese market.

High Tech, Especially For Toyota

It has a massive screen running the Huawei Harmony operating system instead of Toyota’s own. It’s the first time the automaker has used that system, which is found on many vehicles in China. The cabin design is simple, which we expect from Toyota, but it looks more serene than most Toyotas. The small amount of wood trim helps add warmth, and an incredibly basic-looking steering wheel furthers the sense of calm. It will have “the latest intelligent technology,” which probably and unfortunately means AI.

Lastly, Toyota said the bZ7 will have more advanced driver assists than the bZ3, though it didn’t go into detail. The company did say that “Consumers are welcome to look forward to it.”

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The manufacturing plant will be the first independently owned Toyota facility in China.

But not North American consumers. Tariffs aside, automakers do not seem ready to bring models they launch in China, especially EVs, here. Which is too bad, because this looks a whole lot cooler than the bZ4X.

Fortunately, there’s another electric Toyota sedan we can look forward to, or rather a Lexus one, as Lexus used Auto Shanghai 2025 to unveil the new ES, which is available as both a hybrid and an EV, and will be sold in the US.