“Expect to hear a lot more about BZ4x for Australia over the next six months.”
Snapshot
- The BZ4x is slated for launch in the second half of 2023.
- Will not launch without ‘healthy stock’.
- More information to come.
Toyota has touted its upcoming BZ4x, a RAV4-sized EV. An Australian release is expected in the second half of 2023.is likely to be a much greater commercial success than its first mass-market hybrid – the Prius.
Speaking at the launch of the Toyota Corolla Cross, Sean Henley, vice president of sales, marketing and franchising, remained tight-lipped about the BZ4x’s exact numbers, and whether it would be able to generate as many sales leads as the Tesla Model Y. Will be. In September 2022, or the brand’s own stalwart RAV4.
“I don’t have a concrete number yet, because we are still a bit away from the launch but we will definitely not launch a car unless we have a healthy stock,” he said.
“Now it would be speculative for us to give you that number, because it would be pure speculation on my part.”
Henley was confident that Toyota would manage to move more than 137 BZ4x in the electric SUV’s first year on sale (the number of original Prius sold between October-December 2001).
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Is there a demand for BZ4x?
Toyota is a strong brand in the hybrid space, offering electric versions of almost all of its SUVs and passenger cars.so there’s definitely something to get excited about in an EV?
“Beyond these kinds of discussions [with media]… There’s been a little bit of interest”, Henley said.
“Right now we have a lot of other cars, whether it’s the Corolla Cross, the GR86, the GR Yaris, the GR Corolla, but we’ll start building awareness of that. [BZ4x] Maybe in the first half of next year.”
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But it’s clear that Henley has high expectations for the brand’s new electric vehicle that’s twinned under the skin with the Subaru Solterra.
The BZ4x will be available with twin electric motors for AWD with peak power of 160kW and 470km driving range (WLTP) from its 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery.
“We didn’t really want to expand until we knew we could get volume and get closer to the launch date. So we’re in that phase now. So you can expect to hear a lot more about the BZ4x for Australia over the next six months. The boss added.