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Outsold 25 to one by the Tesla Model Y, the price of the not-so-popular Toyota bZ4X electric SUV could soon be given a chop.
Electric Cars
The Toyota bZ4X electric SUV may be in line for a price cut when it is treated to a facelift in Australia next month, adding revised styling and a larger battery pack for a longer driving range.
The bZ4X has not set the popularity charts alight, outsold 25 to one by the Tesla Model Y so far this year, a vehicle with a longer driving range yet a $7100 lower entry price.
A facelifted version is due in showrooms in December 2025, with a 30 per cent-plus increase in driving range rating – now up to 573km WLTP – plus tweaked looks, more power, and a larger touchscreen.
Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley told Drive the bZ4X "was never going to be the biggest seller".
However, he admits the brand needs to sell as many electric vehicles (EVs) as it can to meet strict CO2 vehicle emissions targets in Australia.
"We will announce pricing, of course, at the time, but we've always said that as EVs evolve, as more come on the market, as scale goes up, pricing will come down over time," said Hanley.
"What we are very conscious of, though, are two things. One is resale value, because BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] are already challenged significantly on resale value of any description.
"We're also conscious of people that have bought them. So whatever we do with pricing on bZ will have those two things in mind."
The Toyota executive likened the decline in price of electric cars to hybrid technology, now available on a Corolla hatchback for less than half the price of the original 2001 Prius when adjusted for inflation ($32,110 vs $76,875).
"We have to be competitive in the market. The market determines pricing. Pricing and market competitiveness are deeply important to Toyota."
Asked if Toyota could offer a sweetener to existing bZ4X customers should it cut price of the new model, such as free servicing, Hanley said: "You'll have to wait and see on pricing.
"But, you know, the Australian market's super competitive, so it has to be a competitive proposition."
In the US, the price of the cheapest 'long-range' bZ4X has decreased by 12 per cent over the past two years, excluding additional discounts.
A similar cut would see the updated bZ4X start from about $58,000 before on-road costs with the larger of the two batteries available globally (73.1kWh) and front-wheel drive, or about $66,000 with all-wheel drive and extra features.
The bZ4X is one of the few vehicles on which Toyota has run promotional offers in Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is currently listed with 1.9 per cent comparison rate through Toyota's finance division.
A lower RRP would place Toyota's electric SUV closer to the Model Y ($58,900 plus on-roads), Sealion 7 ($54,990), Zeekr 7X ($57,900), Kia EV5 ($56,770 drive-away) and Volkswagen ID.4 ($59,990 plus on-roads).
Sales of the bZ4X will be useful to offset demand for other Toyota models that produce more CO2 than their targets under the Federal Government's new vehicle emissions standards (NVES).
However, Hanley says it is not "top of mind" for the bZ4X as "the reality is that we'll have plug-in hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and hybrids in the foreseeable future."
The conventional bZ4X SUV body is due to be joined by an extended-length, wagon-style model known as the bZ4X Touring, due in Australia in the first half of 2026.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
