Toyota reaffirms commitment to EVs in Australia
Predicts faster growth than hybrids, but won’t make bZ4X pricing more competitiveDespite slow growth for the segment and slowing sales for its first electric vehicle, the bZ4X, Toyota insists its commitment to EVs remains intact.
The brand remains on course to add at least two more EVs to its local line-up by the end of 2026, a senior Toyota Australia executive has told carsales.
“It’s what we said, nothing has changed,” Toyota Australia sales marketing and franchise operations VP Sean Hanley insisted.
“We haven’t deviated from our previous position.”
Hanley wasn’t prepared to nominate which electric vehicles Toyota would next bring to Australia, but he was keen to push back against the perception it dislikes EVs.
“I have to say this because I know people don’t believe me, but we are not anti-BEV.”
He even outlined a positive future for EVs.
“BEV sales I have no doubt will continue to grow despite what you might be seeing in the market right now and I think they will become an increasingly important part of the automotive landscape.
“It’s just when you look back in history and our history with hybrid … we know the electrification transition will take considerable time in the mass market.
“Will it be as long as hybrid? It’s been 23 years to the point where it is half our sales. It won’t be 23 years, but it will take time.
“It will require a strong focus on issues such as education, affordability and infrastructure.”
To the end of October, EV sales in Australia are only 4576 units ahead of the same period in 2023 (76,376 v 71,800), with powerhouse segment leader Tesla sales down nearly 20 per cent year on year.
But Tesla’s declined performance still dwarfs the bZ4X. So far in 2024 17,739 Model Y medium SUVs have been registered compared to 853 bZ4Xs.
The sales average per month for the bZ4X has dropped from around 130 to about 80 per month since its February launch.
Because it has such a strong model line-up across passenger cars, SUVs and utes and is the dominant market leader, Toyota can afford to let the EV market sort itself out, something Hanley pointed out the EV-only brands can’t.
“We are not reliant on BEV-only for our sales volume,” he said.
“For anyone who only has BEV right now it’s a difficult time.
“That’s not to be disrespectful, that’s just reality. It’s not easy. If BEV is the only thing you’ve got it’s incredibly competitive right now.
“It’s nice to have other solutions at the moment.”
Starting at $66,000 plus on-road costs, the bZ4X is over-priced compared to the Model Y, which kicks off at $55,900 plus ORCs.
A slew of new arrivals to the market mainly from China including the BYD Sealion 7, XPeng G6, Leapmotor C10, Deepal S07 and Geely EX5 will all undercut the Toyota on price when they launch.
But with Toyota’s overall market position so strong, Hanley rejected any chance of a price cut for bZ4X.
“It’s fine, it [bZ4X] is doing exactly the job Toyota expects it to do,” he claimed.
“We certainly aren’t going to drop the price … it affects the resale value and it hurts the existing customers and we don’t want to do that.”
Instead, Hanley says Toyota’s full service lease offer for the bZ4X will be reviewed to make it more attractive.
“Nothing extraordinary, nothing that will be detrimental to the future of its resale value.
“It’s around full service lease … we are considering how best to get people into these cars affordably, but not at the risk of reducing pricing.”
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