Here’s a Toyota bZ3X, a pure electric mid-size SUV for the Chinese EV market. I met the bZ3X near a Toyota dealer in north Beijing, painted in Pure Snow White with five-spoke aero-blade wheels.
Reverse joint venture car
The Toyota bZ3X is an example of a reverse joint venture (反向合资) car—a term describing cars of foreign brands that rely on Chinese platforms and technology. This marks a sharp reversal from earlier days, when Chinese automakers depended heavily on Western technology. Other notable examples are the AUDI E5 Sportback, the Nissan N7, and the Mazda EZ-6.
GAC-Toyota is the manufacturer of the Toyota bZ3X. This is a long-running joint venture established in 2004. For foreign automakers, a reverse joint venture provides a shortcut to launching competitive new-energy vehicles in China. Many global brands were caught sleeping at the wheel by the country’s NEV boom and struggled to develop attractive models in time.
The Toyota bZ3X
The Toyota bZ3X is a mid-sized front-wheel drive SUV, launched in March 2025. It is largely based on the Aion V SUV. Aion is an EV brand of GAC. The platform, power trains, and chassis-hard points are all the same.
Toyota changed the front and rear design, the layout of the D-pillar, and the wheels. That’s about it — the rest comes directly from the Aion V, even down to the shape of the wheel arches and the rear spoiler.
The interior of the Toyota bZ3X
The interior looks great! The Vitality Orange color scheme is fantastic, with black and gray trim on the dash and doors. The design of the dashboard is, again, the same as with the Aion V, down to the steering wheel and the screen. However, Toyota did change the layout of the center tunnel. Note the enormous storage space under the center tunnel. This is a new trend in China and is highly popular with consumers.
The Toyota bZ3X has a 14.6-inch touch screen and an 8.8-inch driver’s display. The drive selector is at the steering wheel column. There’s a single 50W air-cooled wireless charger at the center tunnel.
A large sunroof, a long wheelbase, and a flat floor make for a spacious rear compartment. The dimensions of the bZ3X are: 4600/1875/1645, 2765.
Specifications of the Toyota bZ3X
Toyota is the only car maker with BEV badges. BEV for battery electric vehicle. This is not a common term in China, so it is somewhat odd that Toyota keeps using it. The bZ3X logo is partially blue. This too is a tad old-school, going back to the mid-2000s, when many Chinese brands added blue trim and blue logos to their EVs.
Toyota offers its Chinese SUV with various power and battery options. The car in the photos is the top-spec Toyota bZ3X Smart 520 Pro+ Lidar Edition. It is a single-motor front-wheel drive car. The output is 150 kW and 200 Nm, for a 160 km/h top speed. Toyota claims a 0-50 km/h in 4 seconds. The 0-50 metric is common for low-power EVs in China. Toyota doesn’t quote a 0-100 time. It has a 58.3 kWh LFP battery; the consumption is 12.5 kWh/100 km for a 520 km CLTC range.
Momenta ADAS
Note the 广汽丰田 dealer-charger in the background. It can charge up to four cars at the same time.
The Toyota bZ3X Smart 520 Pro+ Lidar Edition is equipped with a Momenta 5.0 ADAS system. Monenta is a Chinese firm specializing in ADAS and autonomous driving solutions. Toyota only offers the Monenta system in China. It has 27 sensors, including 11 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars, 3 millimeter wave radars, and one lidar on the roof. The ADAS chip is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 with 254 TOPS.
Price of the Toyota bZ3X
The Toyota bZ3X Smart 520 Pro+ Lidar Edition costs 159.800 yuan ($22.3K). The base model, with a 50 kWh battery and without the Momenta ADAS, costs only 109.800 yuan ($15.4K). The bZ3X has been a moderate success. Toyota sells about 9000 units each month, and that makes it the fifth-best-selling Toyota in China.