Conjecture rife that Toyota’s latest ‘beyond zero’ electric study has a specific role.

CONJECTURE is mounting that a petite sports utility Toyota just unveiled in the United States could be more than just a future sister model to the first battery-dedicated car releasing here next year – it might also potentially replace the current C-HR.

 The BZ Compact SUV unveiled at the Los Angele Auto Show is meant to showcase Toyota’s vision for its battery-electric future.

However, there’s already conjecture it is the replacement for the C-HR. The second-smallest SUV offering out of Toyota above the Yaris Cross, is approaching the end of its model cycle.

Toyota in a statement called the study a “possible vision of the very near future,” but has declined to provide a more specific timeline. It has previously refused to discuss the new C-HR, except to affirm the nameplate is set to continue. Conceivably, the car’s current role in the hybrid space could be filled by the new Corolla Cross.

 Being pure electric and not being designed to take the pure petrol that the C-HR used to have and the petrol-electric drivetrains it solely fronts with now would be a big change, but one that conforms with the make’s change of attitude toward battery-only.

 Japan’s No.1 has said it plans to launch 30 fully electric vehicles, including five under the bZ (“Beyond Zero”) badge.

The charge starts in NZ next year with the BZ4X, a RAV4-sized car that is twinned with the Solterra, a Subaru product in the same styling that will also be on sale here, likely ahead of the Toyota edition.

Toyota has since released a BZ3X sedan, but that’s just for China.

BZ4X was a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru, in which it has a shareholding. BZ3X is built in a joint venture arrangement with Chinese brands; GAW operates the factory and BYD supplies the battery.

The bZ Compact concept, on the other hand, appears to so far be a wholly Toyota model.

There’s familial relationship with the bZ4X's, with its sheer surfacing and those ultra-slim lights, but it's also sharper and arguably a little cleaner-looking..

Toyota said the sleek bZ concept pushes the wheels to the corners to achieve an aggressive stance, making it appear in motion when parked. Its silhouette displays short overhangs, sweepback angles and a “narrowed-down cabin design” to create a futuristic look. 

Inside, the car showcases seating made from plant-based and recycled materials and is almost stark in its minimalism, with hardly any buttons - just a couple of multi-function pads on the steering wheel and some soft-keys below the big screen.

Toyota expects to fill the button gap with an in-car digital assistant called 'Yui', which "connects the driver and passengers with the vehicle. With the use of audio and visual lighting cues that move around the cabin, it responds to requests or commands from front or rear passengers."

It has large, free-standing screen in the centre of the dash, alongside a smaller instrument screen that is set further back, similar to the layout of the bZ4X but less bulky.

The steering wheel isn't a wheel at all but a very slim two-spoke 'yoke.' Toyota already revealed a chopped-down yoke steering wheel for the bZ4X and its Lexus equivalent, the RZ, which is connected to a computer-controlled steer-by-wire system that means you never have to cross hands over to get maximum steering lock.