The Toyota Compact Cruiser EV was first shown in December 2021, when Toyota Motor Company presented 15 promising electric vehicles together at once. A compact SUV in the recognizable design of the Toyota models of the past century stirred the public mind and won the Car Design Award 2022 in the concept car category, prompting Toyota to release more photos, renderings and sketches of the Compact Cruiser.
The concept was created by the Toyota European Design Bureau in Nice, France. The designers drew inspiration from the first generation Land Cruiser and the company's off-road heritage, resulting in a reimagining of the retro-futuristic Toyota FJ Cruiser with a modern electric propulsion system instead of a fuel-powered engine. The Compact Cruiser EV does not aspire to the premium class, therefore it is deliberately devoid of chrome elements and attracts attention due to the unpainted protective elements of the body.
Toyota claims that the Compact Cruiser's target audience is "young city dwellers who enjoy outdoor activities," while hinting at the concept's all-wheel drive nature. The company keeps all technical details secret, but most likely, the production version of the model will be built on the eTNGA battery platform, which is already used in the Toyota bZ4x crossover.
So far, however, the Toyota Compact Cruiser EV exists only in the form of computer sketches and a life-size clay model, the black windows of which indicate the absence of a cabin. Based on Toyota Motor's grand electrification plan, a small SUV with electric motors should be in production within the next nine years. Our forecast is the middle of the current decade.
Source: Toyota
