'Toyota got it exactly right': Sluggish electric car growth in Australia shows Toyota's hybrid-first strategy the right path as sales of Toyota RAV4, Corolla Cross, Corolla and Kluger hybrids boom

Toyota sold less than 1000 examples of its electric bZ4X SUV in the past year, and the company said that shows its strategy was right all along.

Electric car sales grew by only 4.6 per cent in Australia last year to 91,292, despite a wave of new models and heavy price discounting on current vehicles.

Hybrid sales jumped 76 per cent and plug-in hybrid sales more than doubled. Toyota sold more than 118,000 hybrids or about two thirds of all hybrids sold in Australia.

The Toyota RAV4 was the second best-selling vehicle in 2024 and sales of Corolla, Corolla Cross and Camry all boomed.

Toyota Australia’s Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, said it hasn’t fallen behind competitors that have rapidly expanding electric car ranges.

“I certainly don’t think anyone has got the jump on Toyota, because that’s suggesting that Toyota got it wrong,” said Hanley.

“Toyota didn’t get it wrong. Toyota got it exactly right. I mean, I’d hate to have 20,000 EVs sitting in my yard right now. I’d hate to have 10,000, right. The reality is we got it perfectly right. 

“Does that absolve us from having to decarbonise? No it does not. It’s just that we’ve read, I believe, the market right,” he said.

Hanley said some of the concerns about electric cars from customers were driving range, access to charging stations, recharging times, prices and battery life.

For now electric cars don’t meet the requirements for all Australians, he said.

“The plain truth is that demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in markets around the world is not living up to the hype,” said Hanley.

“Just because you build them or legislate them or even provide cash incentives for them, it doesn’t always mean the buyers will come to stimulate demand for BEVs.

“We’ve noted that some companies have engaged in significant price cuts. For the most part, it hasn’t worked. All that’s done is harm existing customers by cutting resale values,” he said.

Toyota dipped its toe in the electric car water this year, launching its bZ4X in March this year.

It sold just shy of 1000 examples in its first 10 months on sale locally. The Tesla Model Y — Australia’s best-selling electric vehicle in 2024 — sold about 18,000 units in that time.

Hanley said that the company’s soft approach on electric cars was right for now, but it will ramp it up in coming years.

“The truth of the matter is we have one BEV.”

“We didn’t set lofty targets on that BEV because we knew at the time when we were launching that car that the market was limited. We predicted that the market would be what it is in BEVs. 

“Having said that, then comes along New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) where it is advantageous actually to sell more BEVs in the future to offset carbon penalties and to get credits allowing you to sell more of other vehicles that Australians want.”

Toyota will expand its range of electric cars to three by the end of 2026, which is when the NVES will really start to bite.