- An electric Toyota SUV is proving that legacy automakers can still win in China.
- More than 20,000 GAC Toyota bZ3X models have been delivered since March.
- The joint venture’s Camry sedan and Saini minivan are also racking up sales.
We’ve been hearing a lot about how tough the Chinese market is for long-established brands that are familiar to us in the West. Automakers like VW, Porsche and Mercedes have all suffered big sales slides in China, but Toyota has proved that’s it’s still possible to beat the increasingly competitive domestic brands at their own game.
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Also: How Toyota’s $15K EV Ended Up Costing $48K In Its First Export Market
The bZ3X is an electric SUV built by a joint venture between Toyota and China’s GAC and it’s been selling like crazy following its debut four months ago. More than 200,000 examples have been delivered since March, GAC Toyota wrote on China’s Weibo social media platform, and the company also mentioned it had received over 30,000 orders.
A Price That Turns Heads
So how did Toyota manage to win where many other legacy brands have failed? One reason is the bZ3X’s incredibly competitive sticker. Prices for the electric SUV start at 109,800 yuan, or roughly $15,000 at current exchange rates. That makes it less than half the price of the GAC Toyota Highlander, which starts at 284,800 yuan ($39,300), and also undercuts the 171,800 yuan ($23,700) Camry.
Naturally, you’re not getting a fully-loaded, long-range EV for for your $15k, though versions with Lidar-based ADAS are available. The base bZ3X, the 430 Air, comes with a small 50 kWh battery that’s rated at 267 miles (430 km) on the generous Chinese CTLC cycle, but probably only offers 200 miles (320 km) of real range.
For a few yuan more, the 430 Air+ adds extra equipment but retains the base model’s battery, and the 58 kWh 520 Pro and Pro+ stretch the range to 323 miles (520 km) while still using the same single 201 hp (204 PS / 150 kW) electric motor as the lower-tier versions.
More: Toyota’s New Electric Flagship Sedan Takes A Shot At Tesla Model S
Top of the tree is the 610 Max, which gets a bump to 221 hp (224 PS / 165 kW) and promises 379 miles (610 km) of range from its 68 kWh pack. But even that flagship trim will only set you back ¥159,800 (~$22,000).
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Momentum Beyond a Single Model
The bZ3X isn’t the only GAC Toyota performing well in China. The joint venture’s total sales reached 364,218 in the first six months of 2025, and importantly they were up 5.6 percent, making the company one of the few similar collabs to make gains.
Camry sales were up 66 percent to 20,358 in June, Ziniu News reports, and the company’s Saina minivan registered 8,846 deliveries in the first half of the year, up 16 percent.
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