Toyota NZ has just sent a delegation to the world’s largest car making country - but not to pick a product.

TOYOTA New Zealand advisors who went to China recently didn’t do so to check out the brand’s cheapest electric car - a model that seems to have become a regional interest.

The bZ3X is a Toyota-designed five-seater sports utility created foremost for sale in China, where it is built in a joint venture with the domestic maker GAC, which is soon to sell its own products in NZ.

The model now has export potential, due it having been re-engineered for right hand drive, so it can be sold in Hong Kong.

Toyota Australia has already expressed interest in taking it, but Toyota NZ is not keen to discuss the car.

However, it recently sent a delegation of senior staff to China - so did they check out the car while there?

Not according to a spokesperson for the Palmerston North-based market leader, who said in response that query:

“The recent trip to China wasn’t focused on exploring product opportunities; it was an essential business trip with our Champions Advisory Panel.”

“For Toyota, it’s a reminder that we can’t be complacent and must never underestimate global competition. While the visit offered valuable insights, it wasn’t focused on specific products.”

According to internet information out of TNZ, the panel is a group composed of representatives from the top-performing Toyota dealerships, selected based on their excellence in new vehicle sales, used vehicle sales, parts, and service categories.

It is said to serve as a key consultation body for TNZ's management, providing input and feedback on strategic initiatives and business operations from the dealer perspective.

While electric car interest in NZ has plummeted since the end of rebates, and introduction of Road User Charges, the bZ3X has attraction of potentially being much cheaper than TNZ’s sole fully electric product, the Subaru Solterra-twinned bZ4X, which comes out of Japan and has been a desultory seller here since introduction two years ago.

The cars look similar, but in measuring 4600mm long, 1850mm wide, 1645mm tall and riding on a 2765mm wheelbase, the bZ3X is 90mm shorter, 10mm narrower, 5mm lower with a 85mm shorter wheelbase.

Right hand drive has also altered the car’s cost, with it taking a different battery also affecting.

Whereas the China market car kicks in for around $26,000, the Hong Kong Macau car is dearer; the pricing there represents a 116 percent increase.

Also, the edition for Hong Kong and Macau is equipped with a 70kWh battery, whereas the mainland China editions take a 50kWh battery in cheapest form, with 58.4kWh and 67.9kWh batteries optional.

The RHD car is rated with 565 kilometres range, but that’s using the NEDC scale considered much less accurate than the WLTP calculation that will become the sole tool in NZ after the end of this year.

Charging rates are a maximum 6.6kW AC and 90kW DC fast charging.

The bZ3X is powered by a 150kW/210Nm front motor, compared to the 150kW/266Nm single (front) motor or 160kW/337Nm combined dual-motor all-wheel drive version.

Along with the larger battery, the right-hand drive bZ3X also picks a panoramic roof and an 11-speaker Yamaha audio system not found on the base model in mainland China.