FAW Toyota's electric bZ3 sedan hits market

Sino-Japanese joint venture FAW Toyota launched the mid-sized electric sedan bZ3 on Sunday.

It is the second electric model based on Toyota's e-TNGA platform, which is dedicated to electric vehicles.

The model, available in three variants, measures 4,725 mm in length, 1,835 mm in width and 1,475 mm in height, with its wheelbase extending for 2,880 mm.

It sports BYD's blade-shaped batteries and has two range options on one charge: 517 km and 616 km.

FAW Toyota said the vehicle can get charged from 30 percent to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes.

The bZ3 came within six months of Toyota's first electric model bZ4X's arrival in China, the world's largest NEV market.

The increasing number of electric models is expected to help the joint venture sharpen its competitive edge in China's fierce NEV market.

In the first quarter, sales of NEVs in China soared 26.2 percent year-on-year to 1.69 million units, accounting for 26.1 percent of total vehicle sales in the same period, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.