Toyota bZ4X delayed for Australia again

Toyota Australia’s first EV, the Toyota bZ4X, has been delayed again and won’t appear in Australian dealerships until February 2024 – 18 months after it was first expected in Australia.

But the mid-size electric SUV will be offered in a model range that includes single-motor front-drive variants and dual-motor all-wheel drive alternatives – and the line-up will expand as Toyota looks to eventually chase down Tesla.

Initially planned to arrive to Australia late in 2022, the RAV4-sized battery-electric SUV is now on track for early 2024, finally giving Toyota an EV to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, BYD Atto 3, Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5.

News of the delay comes shortly after the local release of the bZ4X’s Subaru twin, the Solterra, was also pushed back to later this year.

Toyota continues to put on a brave face about watching from the sidelines as sales of EVs boom, arguing the delayed bZ4X is arriving at the perfect time.

The shadowy silver lining with this latest delay is that Toyota says it has managed to coax more supplies of an upgraded bZ4X range, meaning it should be more freely available when it eventually arrives here.

However, it’ll still be very much a niche seller within the Toyota line-up and against the market-leading Model Y, which so far this year is Australia’s top-selling EV and mid-size SUV, eclipsing even the Toyota RAV4.

“Rather than rush the market this year with a handful of cars, we decided to ensure our dealers have a reasonable level of floor stock with the first cars rolling out of showrooms in February 2024,” Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, told media this week.

“We have negotiated with our parent company to receive a substantially higher share of production than we originally planned. We expect to be able to deliver several thousand cars in 2024 and they will have an upgraded spec.”

They’re comparatively small numbers for a brand that dominates Australia’s new-vehicle market.

To put that in perspective, if Model Y sales continue at current levels, the Tesla achieve about 10 times more volume than the bZ4X.

But Hanley defends the low planned volumes, saying more stocks will come – eventually.

“We’ve… made it very clear that being first to market is not the most important thing. Being first to market and being right is the most important thing for us.”

He says the bZ4X is “a long-term game for Toyota” and that “we’ll progressively step up volume and models and [the model] range as we go forward”.

From its launch, Toyota has confirmed it will offer multiple versions of the bZ4X, including some with a single electric motor driving the front wheels and others with two motors powering all four wheels.

The company says it expects 60 per cent of sales to be for the front-drive variants and 40 per cent for all-wheel drives.

The ground-breaking model’s upgraded spec follows the lukewarm response the bZ4X received globally – something that has no doubt contributed to its modest sales in other markets.

Significant software updates are expected to improve the lacklustre 416km WLTP range and also improve charging times to make the bZ4X more practical for those wanting to travel longer distances.

Either way, expect a more convincing bZ4X than the one that’s been available overseas so far.

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