• Toyota will soon pull the wraps off a brand-new electric coupe crossover designed in Europe.
• This is likely the production version of the bZ Compact SUV Concept shown at the 2022 LA Auto Show.
• More details will be announced on March 11, when the model officially debuts.

Toyota promises that the electric coupe crossover it plans to unveil on March 11 will be “exciting and surprising.” However, in the newly released teaser image, which obscures most of the car but gives us a good look at the roofline and some details, it looks a lot like the 2022 bZ Compact SUV Concept.

We don’t know if the production model stayed true to the concept’s dimensions, but it previewed a smaller and more design-focused electric high rider with a dramatic tapering roof to sit below the bZ4X in the lineup. In the press blurb accompanying the teaser image, Toyota calls this model “all-new,” which likely means it doesn’t have a predecessor, not that it’s a ground-up redesign of a model it already sells.

The manufacturer also touts the upcoming model’s “elevated driving dynamics and surprising space,” promising it has “strong emotional appeal.” The concept’s design certainly looks better than the bZ4X, whose unusual look is part of why some buyers are shunning the model, although the sales pace picked up through 2024 thanks in no small part to hefty discounts.

The bZ Compact SUV Concept looked like a slightly larger and fancier version of the new-generation C-HR, with hidden rear door handles and a bold taillight arrangement with a full-width light bar. The front has the typical Toyota family face, but it looks closer in style to the sportier C-HR than to the bZ4X.

Some of the concept’s features that could reach production include 21-inch wheels, which are large for a vehicle this size. Dual charging ports (one on each side of the car) are possible, and we could see a 14-inch infotainment screen with a curved lower part like a Hyperscreen-equipped Mercedes.

Toyota is said to be abandoning its bZ naming strategy, and the bZ4X could also be renamed when it receives its mid-lifecycle makeover. It won’t be Toyota’s smallest electric crossover after the recent unveiling of the Urban Cruiser EV, which is also rebadged as the Suzuki eVitara.

We don’t know where Toyota intends to sell the new model, but it is the product of its design center in France. This could be a Europe-only model that isn’t coming to the United States, at least not right away. If this is indeed related to the bZ Compact SUV, it’s worth noting that the concept debuted at the 2022 LA Auto Show. That suggests a U.S. debut could happen in the long run.