Upgraded Toyota bZ4X to tackle Tesla Model Y on price

Toyota Australia’s first battery-electric vehicle, the Toyota bZ4X, will come with a series of changes designed to increase range and charging capability when it goes on sale Down Under later this year.

And the pricing of the long-awaited mid-size electric SUV will be “competitive” against the market-leading electric SUV, the Tesla Model Y, Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley told carsales.

Pricing and local specifications for the bZ4X, which due on sale in Australia in October or November this year, have not been revealed.

However, the on-sale date of the bZ4X was pushed back to late 2023 so Toyota Australia could launch with an updated spec and so that production capacity could be secured.

“By delaying slightly we are going to get the most updated spec for the Australian market, which will be incredibly advantageous for us and that vehicle given it is our first entry for a BEV,” said Hanley.

“We are very confident that vehicle will be well received when we launch and, before you ask me, in 2024 we will have good numbers of those vehicles for sale.”

That reference to numbers was intended to deflect any suggestions that potential bZ4X buyers would face long wait times, like those that currently exist for models like the RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 70 Series.

So far only software updates have been reported as coming for the bZ4X.

Improvements they provide include helping it get closer to its claimed 470km range in the real world, reducing charging times and doubling the number of times it can be charged from 10-80 per cent in 24 hours from twice to four times.

The changes will also apply to the Subaru Solterra, which also goes on sale in Australia in 2023, but before the bZ4X in August.

It is as yet unknown whether more updates are also coming for the bZ4X that change the current mechanical spec, which includes a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery.

Hanley said details of the Aussie-spec bZ4X would “probably” be released ahead of the launch.

Pricing for the Model Y – which is also Australia’s fifth best-selling SUV to the end of May 2023 – starts at $69,300 for the single-motor Rear-Wheel Drive variant, and $82,300 for the dual-motor AWD.

“I’ve often said BEVs aren’t cheap, but we also know that in an accelerating BEV market we have got to be competitive,” said Hanley.

“The BEV market is changing a lot. It is moving and dynamic and we are looking forward to being part of it.”

EVs claimed a 7.7 per cent market share in Australia last month and are running at seven per cent for the year so far.

Overseas the bZ4X is available as both a 150kW/266Nm single-motor front-wheel drive and 160kW/337Nm dual-motor all-wheel drive.

While Toyota is new to the EV segment in Australia, it has a long history of selling petrol-electric hybrids here.

It intends to launch at least three EVs in Australia by the end of 2026, with more possible.

At the same, it is currently campaigning to slow down the transition to a zero-emissions clampdown on new-vehicle sales in Australia.

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