Toyota released the first teaser picture of an upcoming new electric car called “X Prologue,” ahead of its unveiling next week.
The Japanese automaker has yet to launch an all-electric vehicle outside of China.
Despite the fact that the company announced an acceleration of its electric vehicle plans last year, the Japanese automaker has been focused on hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, and it has often dismissed battery-electric vehicles.
Last year, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda went on a rant about battery-electric vehicles at an annual meeting, and he spread misinformation about electric vehicles and claimed that it wasn’t a good idea to push for massive electrification.
Despite all that, Toyota needs to add some EVs in its lineup to be competitive, and it has announced new electric cars coming this year.
Today, Toyota is teasing the “X Prologue” in a press release:
Toyota is today giving a small glimpse of its upcoming X prologue.
Please join us online at www.x-prologue.com on Wednesday 17th March at 10:00 CET to see the full reveal.
The automaker also released the following teaser picture of the vehicle:
While there’s no indication in the press release that it is an electric vehicle, the image shows a closed front-fascia, which all but confirms that the vehicle is going to be electric.
Interestingly, Toyota posted the release on its European media site and not its global or North American media sites, which could mean that it will be a Europe-only model.
Several automakers have been launching new electric vehicles exclusively in Europe, where regulations are forcing them to have a higher mix of electric vehicles in their sales in order to comply with emission standards.
However, Toyota recently announced two electric cars coming to the US this year.
It also not clear if X Prologue is going to be a concept or a vehicle intended for production.
We should have all the details next week after the unveiling.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
