Toyota bz4X EV now in Thailand & Indonesia, PH next?

Earlier this year, Toyota confirmed that the all-electric bZ4X will be coming to Southeast Asia. It was then followed by news last August that both the bZ4x and Lexus RZ will be arriving in the Philippines. With Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) essentially confirming they will introduce EVs in the country, the automaker could make it available as early as 2023.

But elsewhere in Southeast Asia, two of our closest neighbors have just received one of the EVs. That's right, both Thailand and Indonesia now have the all-new Toyota bZ4X in their respective markets. With it, the EV has officially made its regional debut in ASEAN.

Despite being launched in two different countries, both vehicles come with the same stylish look that was first revealed last year. The difference between the two models comes down to the available variants and output figures.

The Thai market only gets the all-wheel drive model which means it gets a pair of electric motors that make a combined system output of 218 PS and 337 Nm of torque. It is then coupled to a 71.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that Toyota says will give the EV 411 km of range. This allows the AWD bZ4X to sprint from 0 – 100 km/h in just 6.9 seconds. When it comes to features amenities, the Thai-spec bZ4X comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 9-speaker JBL sound system, a 7-inch digital gauge cluster, dual-zone automatic climate control, full-leather upholstery, and a wireless phone charger.

Indonesia's model only has a single-motor setup. This means the EV just makes 204 PS and 266 Nm of torque. Carried over is the 71.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack shared with the Thai-spec model. Since it only has a single motor, it has a better range of up to 500 km on a single charge. Like the Thai-spec version, the bZ4X over in Indonesia almost gets the same level of equipment and features. But whereas the Thai-spec EV gets huge 20-inch alloy wheels, the Indonesian-spec only comes with smaller 18-inch wheels.

With Thailand and Indonesia the first markets to get the all-new bZ4X, it seems TMP's plan to bring the EV to the Philippines as early as 2023 is right on schedule. Here's to hoping all goes well for its scheduled arrival next year.