Toyota bZ4x electric SUV just a year away

The world’s biggest car-maker and Australia’s number-one automotive brand will release its first electric vehicle in a little over a year from now.

Toyota was a pioneer in the petrol-electric vehicle space and has become synonymous with hybrid cars, but unlike its key competitors it’s yet to sell a single battery-electric EV or, in Australia, a plug-in vehicle of any kind.

That will all change in the fourth quarter of 2022 with the arrival of the Toyota bZ4x – an all-electric mid-size SUV that will rival the upcoming Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6, both of which will be available here by the end of this year.

Addressing a press conference outlining the extended delays of several Toyota models including the new LandCruiser 300 Series last week, Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley said the Toyota bZ4x remains on target for a local launch before the end of 2022.

Previously, the bZ4x had been confirmed for release in Australia only “within months” of its global launch in mid-2022.

“At this stage, we’ve had no information about any delays in relation to that car,” said Hanley.

“We’re dealing right now with the immediate future. At this stage, our plans are to continue with our launch plans around the bZ vehicle.

“Approximately our planning launch time at this stage is around the fourth quarter of next year.”

Earlier this year Hanley said the bZ4x, which will likely be positioned above Toyota’s extensive range of hybrid models, would not come cheap.

“Pricing will be announced closer to introduction, but this car will be expensive, as was the original Prius that we launched back in October 2001,” said Hanley.

“I think we sold between 100 and 200 [Prius vehicles] in the first year. A lot of those Priuses were targeted at very specific customers, particularly fleets.

“The whole idea, as per Mirai … is to put those cars out there, get people speaking about them, get people comfortable with the technology, to be able to demonstrate the technology.

“This will take a while to mature, but it won’t take 20 years to mature like hybrid did. I think you will see electrification fast-track over the next decade,” he said.

So it remains to be seen whether the electric crossover undercuts the IONIQ 5 (from $71,900), Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric (from $76,990) and other upcoming mid-size electric SUVs like the Nissan Ariya and Tesla Model Y.

Australia’s cheapest EV is currently the MG ZS EV ($44,990 drive-away) and other small electric SUVs include the Hyundai Kona Electric (from $54,500), Kia Niro EV ($62,590) and Mazda MX-30 Astina Electric ($65,490).

The Toyota bZ4x is the first of seven (‘beyond Zero’) models and a total of 15 EVs to come from the Japanese giant by 2025.

It is based on dedicated TNGA EV platform co-developed with Subaru, whose equivalent Solterra model won’t be sold in Australia.