Nothing is off the table: Toyota’s Aussie bZ battery electric blitz

Stand by for a significant commitment to battery electric vehicles by Toyota Australia.

The dominant player in the Australian new vehicle sales market launches its first BEV, the bZ4X (pictured top), in the second half of 2023, but has big plans to expand its line-up quickly.

READ MORE: New EV electric car calendar
READ MORE: Every EV coming to Australia in 2023
READ MORE: Best EVs of 2022

The four other bZ – or Beyond Zero – BEV models so far revealed in production and concept form by Toyota will be assessed for Australian sales.

And so will Toyota-branded BEVs, a number of which have already been previewed.

The accelerated move to EVs comes after Toyota here and globally copped criticism in 2022 from the likes of Greenpeace for its attitude towards electrification. There have also been media reports from Japan that Toyota is grappling with the shape, scope and technology of its EV future.

In Australia, Toyota has been a leader in petrol-electric hybrid sales, but has so far watched on as Tesla has blazed a path for EVs and other brands such as China’s BYD have followed.

“Nothing is off the table for us in Australia,” Toyota Australia sales, marketing and franchising vice-president Sean Hanley told EVcentral.

The bZ line-up currently includes two production models; the bZ4X SUV and the bZ3 sedan.

There are three other bZ models that have so far only been shown as concepts – the bZ compact SUV bZ large SUV and bZ small crossover.

“The bZ4X has been confirmed for Australia and the other four bZ vehicles are part of the global line-up,” Hanley said.

“At the appropriate time we will of course evaluate them for our market with the full intention of introducing as many of those vehicles as possible.

“It will be determined by our market and our market trend.

“We are blessed that we have a global car company that is investing a lot of money in battery technology, they are accelerating their bZ vehicle line-up and vehicle technologies. That is a good thing.”

During a major reveal in late 2021 Toyota global boss Akio Toyoda not only showed off bZ BEVs, but several Toyotas as well – including a ute, sports car, crossover, a small SUV and a retro mini-SUV dubbed the Compact Cruiser.

Hanley defended the acceleration of Toyota’s BEV plans as a logical thing for the company to do.

“I am always surprised when people say ‘wow Toyota is accelerating its BEV line-up’.

“Well, why wouldn’t we? That’s what we do every day of our lives, that’s what car companies do.

“I always find it odd when I read a headline where Toyota has changed its position – well why wouldn’t we? That’s our job, to keep up with the market and that’s exactly what we will do in Australia.”

Hanley said Toyota Australia’s EV acceleration was coming at the right time.

“Battery electric vehicles are accelerating – it’s three per cent of the market last year.

“That’s good news, that’s a positive step. It’s good news for us because we are about to launch our first battery electric vehicle in the Australian market. So it’s good timing.

“We think it’s a good time to launch the bZ4X in the second half and we are looking forward to that and we want to be part of that acceleration of battery electric cars in this market.”

And rather than face a credibility gap when it launches BEVs, Hanley argues Toyota’s 22 years selling hybrids in Australia will encourage interest in its BEVs.

“All I will say to the market is we have been investing in hybrid electric and electrification for a long, long time and the trust in the brand as you can see from our results I think is at an all-time high,” he said.

“Our job is to provide practical, workable solutions that allow people to do the things they want to do with their mobility requirements.

“That is our job … that’s exactly what Toyota will do. In the end the market will determine that, but our credentials and history is pretty solid.”