Spied: Built by China's BYD, Toyota bZ SDN spotted for the first time

The upcoming Toyota bZ SDN has been spotted in China, roughly three months after Toyota previewed the concept version during an online press conference.

Likely aimed at the Tesla Model 3, the Toyota bZ SDN will be co-developed with BYD, Toyota’s Chinese partner for EVs. Recall that Toyota and BYD signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2019, and operations started a year later in 2020. The newly-formed partnership will see Toyota and BYD developing EVs for the China market.

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The heavily-camouflaged prototype was spotted somewhere in China. Despite its heavy camo, design hints like the kinked window line and pronounced rear fender seem to hint that we’re looking at the Toyota bZ SDN. Look closer and you'll notice that the camouflaged car gets regular door handles, which are missing on the concept car shown above.

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The BYD connection comes from a sheet of paper with all the necessary information about this sedan. According to the sheet, the manufacturer for the Toyota bZ SDN will be BYD.

It also conveniently provides the dimensions for the Toyota bZ Sedan, which is 4,725 mm long, 1,835 mm wide, and 1,475 mm tall. It has a 2,880 mm-long wheelbase. For context, that puts the bZ SDN between the Toyota Corolla Altis and Toyota Camry in terms of dimensions, albeit with a much longer wheelbase.

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The lone shot of the bZ SDN’s interior reveals that much of the design elements inside were inspired by the bZ4X EV SUV, including the massive infotainment display and rotary-style gear selector. There appears to be a large storage space beneath the gear selector too.

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What’s missing is the powertrain details. Neither BYD nor Toyota have said anything about the bZ SDN’s powertrain or range.

Watch this space for more updates.