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Toyota Australia will continue to sell the C-HR hybrid amid modest sales and a continuing import tariff – while increased EV demand won’t see the C-HR BEV fast-tracked for local showrooms.
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Toyota Australia says it remains happy with its alternative C-HR hybrid small SUV despite slow sales and an ongoing import tariff, as its European rivals benefit from a new free-trade agreement.
Australian new-car sales data shows 406 examples of the Turkish-built Toyota C-HR have been reported as sold between January and March 2026, down 46.9 per cent from the same time last year.
It is currently one of Toyota's slowest-selling models in Australia, ahead only of the HiAce Commuter and Coaster buses, the GR86 sports car and the Tundra full-size ute, and well behind the more conventional Corolla Cross (3610) and RAV4 (3842) SUVs.
In 2024, Toyota Australia said it expected sales of the current-generation C-HR to be 50 per cent less than the old model, resulting in an annual sales target of around 2500.
Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations John Pappas said the brand is happy with the C-HR hybrid's sales performance, and confirmed the unrelated C-HR BEV won't launch any sooner than mid-2027 "at this stage".
"C-HR hybrid, in actual fact, for us, it's part of our [multi-pathway strategy]," Pappas said. "We're actually really happy with how that's going."
"We're very excited to bring in the C-HR BEV as well, as part of that C-HR nameplate. The C-HR, we're excited with what it's doing and where it's going."
Now priced between $46,940 and $58,890 before on-road costs, the second-generation C-HR launched in Australia in early 2024, bringing price rises of up to $16,525, partly due to increased production costs following a switch from Japan to Turkey, including an import tariff.
Subsequent price increases have seen that old-versus-new figure rise to more than $20,000, with the flagship GR Sport nearly $4000 dearer than it was at launch two years ago, now costing around $65,000 drive-away.
Non-electric vehicles built in Turkey, including the C-HR, incur a 5 per cent import tariff in Australia – unlike cars sourced from Japan, China, Thailand, the US, and, in recent weeks, the European Union, which have a free-trade agreement with Australia.
The benefits of the Australia-European Union free-trade agreement, signed on 24 March 2026, are yet to reach fruition, but C-HR small SUV rivals such as the T-Roc, X1, Audi Q3 and Cupra Formentor could receive price adjustments.
A plug-in hybrid version of the C-HR, available in Europe, remains off the table for Australia, but Pappas said the company said it can look at its "sourcing strategies and where those opportunities could come from".
"If the PHEV can suit our customer needs, then we'll always look at those types of solutions for our market."
Meanwhile, the unrelated C-HR BEV (battery electric vehicle) model – revealed in Europe 12 months ago as the C-HR+ and based on the larger bZ4X – will not be fast-tracked for Australia.
Pappas told Drive the C-HR BEV, which was confirmed for Australia in November 2025, remains on track for a mid-2027 arrival in local showrooms, despite increased electric-vehicle demand and the mid-2026 arrival of its Subaru Uncharted sibling.
"At this stage, that is locked in 2027. We are looking forward to that C-HR BEV. I think it's going to be a very exciting car for us, but no plan at this stage to bring that forward," he said.
When it launches in Australia, the C-HR BEV is likely to become Toyota's cheapest electric vehicle, and will join the bZ4X, bZ4X Touring and HiLux BEV.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
