Brave or bonkers? Toyota won’t be cutting the price of its bZ4X electric car, even as Tesla and BYD’s prices plummet
Toyota is ignoring the downward plunge in electric vehicle pricing and keeping the bZ4X SUV at its launch price.
However, the Aussie market new-vehicle sales leader has admitted it is considering other ways of stoking demand for the mid-size SUV.
At its February launch, the bZ4X was priced at $66,000 for the single motor front-wheel drive and $74,900 for the dual-motor all-wheel drive. Both prices are plus on-road costs.
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Since then, the top-selling Tesla Model Y has been cut to $55,900 plus on-road costs for the single motor rear-wheel drive, while the dual motor Long Range is priced at $69,900 and the Performance $82,900.
BYD has also recently cut the price of the popular Atto 3 compact SUV as low as $44,499 plus ORCs., from $48,011. The Mustang Mach-E and Renault Megane E-Tech have also had price cuts, as has the smaller MG ZS EV.
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Most spectacularly, Peugeot cut the price of the run-out e-2008 compact SUV by $25,000.
“We haven’t [considered bZ4X price cuts] at the moment,” said Toyota marketing and sales chief Sean Hanley.
“We are certainly looking at other ways with novated leasing and full-service leasing, we are certainly looking at all those packages.
“We are aware of the price reductions that are happening.”
Over the four months it has been on-sale, Toyota has sold an average 114 bZ4Xs each month, including 208 in its first month on sale in February.
By comparison the Model Y is averaging 1922 sales per month and the BYD Atto 3 is at 675 sales per month.
But Hanley said the bZ4X was tracking as expected.
“We believe that the bZ is performing to where we expected it to perform within the market conditions that it operates,” said Hanley.
“We certainly believe that BEVs will continue to grow in volume over time, despite what we are seeing today.
“They certainly have a role to play. But so do hybrid, plug-in hybrid and maybe fuel cell electric vehicles of the future.
“What we are saying is we are convinced this multi-pathway approach is right.”
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Hanley confirmed Toyota Australia’s previously stated plan to launch three EVs in Australia by 2026 remained intact
“Nothing’s changed, we are certainly on track to do that,” he said.
And he backed the BEV market to become more important over time and bZ4X sales to grow.
“We never put a BEV in the EV market believing it would be number one immediately, but we do believe it will grow, we do believe we need to be there and it will form part of our overall strategy going forward.”
