Credit: Toyota

Earlier today, Toyota and Lexus debuted some improved and some new electric vehicles. The event was focused on the European market, where battery EV penetration is relatively high, and I wouldn't expect either the Urban Cruiser or C-HR+ crossovers to show up on sale in the US. But we'll likely find the upgrades to the Toyota bZ4x and the closely related Lexus RZ, or at least some of them, in North American models at some point.

The revised bZ4x will come in three powertrain options, at least in the EU, all with new battery packs. There's a 165 hp (123 kW) front-wheel drive version coupled to a smaller-capacity 57.7 kWh battery pack (which I would not expect to come to the US), and then 221 hp (165 kW) FWD and 337 (252 kW) all-wheel drive options, both of which use a new 73.1 kWh battery pack.

For comparison, the bZ4xs that went on sale in the US several years ago are offered with either a 71.4 kWh pack for FWD or a 72.8 kWh pack for AWD versions.

The increased output from the electric motors is in part thanks to silicon carbide in the power electronics. Toyota says they can tow twice as much as before—3,300 lbs (1,500 kg). As for improvements to range, the automaker expects to improve the longest-range version to grow from 318 miles (510 km) to 356 miles (573 km) under the European WLTP tests. (To illustrate the difference between results on the EU and EPA test cycles, the longest-range US version is rated at 252 miles (405 km) of range, and there's not a simple conversion factor; the tests are very different.)

The new Lexus RZ also comes in three different power outputs—one FWD, two AWD—and gets a completely different battery pack from the version Ars tested in 2023, now with a capacity of 77 kWh. Both AWD RZs being offered to Europe come with a lot more power than that 2023 car, either 375 hp (280 kW) or 402 hp (300 kW), depending on whether it's the RZ 500e or RZ 500 F Sport.

Lexus' press information makes plenty of references to the company wanting to "enhance the fundamental joy of driving," so there's something called the Interactive Manual Drive, which "enhances the excitement of shifting by synchronizing acceleration and deceleration with immersive sound." The aim is to do something similar to the wonderfully goofy N E-Shift in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, mimicking a paddle-shift gearbox by altering the throttle maps and lift-off regen settings for each "gear."

Some of the other EVs that aren't coming to the US will no doubt whet appetites anyway. There's the small CR-H+—one segment down from the bZ4x—and the even smaller Urban Cruiser, itself one segment down from the CR-H+. There's probably a new electric pickup headed Europe's way in the next couple of years, and Toyota also unveiled the adorable and tiny FT-Me, which is intended for people with entry-level driver's licenses, similar to the Citroen Ami or other low-speed vehicles.