Pure-electric Toyota X Prologue SUV previewed

Toyota has released a new teaser image of the upcoming Toyota X Prologue concept that will be fully unveiled next week and is tipped to preview an all-new series-production pure-electric SUV.

The darkened pic shows a dramatic C-shaped LED headlight that seamlessly flows into a full-length light bar, suggesting a short bonnet and shapely front bonnet that lacks a conventional grille.

It's that last aspect, the lack of a prominent intake for cooling that supports claims that the car we're looking at will be battery-powered, while its snub nose points towards an SUV shape.

Set for an unwrapping on March 17, Toyota's caption for the latest release reads: "X Prologue – 'a small' preview of what's next".

It's thought the "small" mention is a reference to the concept's dimensions, suggesting Toyota Yaris Cross or Toyota C-HR proportions.

Toyota has already announced that its first mass-produced electric car for European buyers will be a small-to-mid-size SUV based on the car-maker's dedicated e-TNGA architecture created for EVs.

The pure-electric SUV will rival the Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.4, and is scheduled to be launched later in 2021.

The Toyota X Prologue is expected to preview its design, or at least the new design language Toyota will apply for all future electric cars.

Sharing the high cost of its development, Toyota says that it is initially planning six pure-electric vehicles based on its e-TNGA platform, with all models co-developed with Subaru.

Claimed to be highly flexible, the new architecture is said to be capable of allowing engineers to build vehicles of varying length and wheelbase, and with single or twin motors and a huge variety of battery packs.

The new electric SUV is also shaping up as the first EV to be sold by Toyota in Australia, as the company considers pulling forward its local timeline.