Toyota BZ4X News

Electric cars are finally having their moment. As petrol and diesel prices soar, it appears everyone on the fence about buying an electric vehicle (EV) have taken the plunge.Having steadily hovered around the 10 per cent total market share for the past 18 months, EVs accounted for more than 16 per cent in April. That means approximately one-in-six cars sold last month were battery-powered.But perhaps even more interesting than just the total number of EVs sold, was who was selling them. The days of Tesla dominating the electric market appear to be over, with several new names emerging as popular options for Australians.Here are five of the most in-demand EVs in 2026.BYD Sealion 7For all the hype around BYD’s Shark 6 ute and cut-price Atto 1, the real star for the brand is its mid-size SUV. The Sealion 7 isn’t just a popular EV, it’s also one of the most popular SUVs on the market and was the seventh best-selling vehicle in April.Sales are up 342.2% year-to-date, but it isn’t just a sudden surge in the wake of the fuel crisis. The Sealion 7 has been a popular choice almost since it arrived. It was the eighth most popular SUV in its segment in 2025, behind some of the biggest names in the market - Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage and Subaru Forester.So regardless of what happens with fuel prices in the coming months, the Sealion 7 looks set to remain a popular choice for anyone looking for a mid-size SUV, electric or otherwise.Geely EX5 If there is a biggest winner of the current surge in EV sales it is the Geely’s EX5. Sales are up 415.4% year-to-date, peaking with 1202 in April alone. That’s up from an average of just 328 sales per month in 2025 and its jump demonstrates that it is genuine demand in EVs, not simply availability, that is driving this current boom. The EX5 was already one of the most affordable EVs on the market, starting at just $41,990, so if it was simply price and choice creating this sales increase in electric options there’s no reason it wouldn’t have started last year.Instead, Geely is taking advantage of its appealing price and benefiting as Australian buyers look for a way to beat the pain at the pump.Zeekr 7X While it doesn’t have the sheer volume of others on this list, selling only 2698 examples so far in 2026, the 7X is proving to be consistently popular while growing in sales.It’s not surprising that it isn’t selling in bigger volumes like the BYD and Geely, as it is positioned as a more premium offering with a starting price of $57,900  that stretches to $72,900 for the flagship Performance AWD model.But averaging nearly 675 sales per month to start 2026, with a spike of 973 sales in April, it’s clear that the 7X is an EV with a growing following.Kia EV3 You may have noticed a theme with the previously mentioned models, as the newer Chinese brands have claimed the role of EV leaders. But one of the established brands holding its own is Kia.Not all of its EVs are proving a sales hit, with the larger EV6 and EV9 still returning relatively modest sales numbers, but the smaller EV3 is doing well. Sales are up 150.2 per cent year-to-date, helping it become the most popular small electric SUV in its price range.The EV3 has garnered critical acclaim and has been slowly building a customer base, likely appealing to those looking to make the electric switch with a brand they know and trust.Sales of the larger EV5 are also up in 2026, but nowhere near to the same level, increasing only 28.7 per cent as it competes directly against the Sealion 7, EX5 and even the 7X.Toyota bZ4XCompared to the other cars on this list the total 2026 sales of just 1323 looks a bit poor, but when you consider how the bZ4X has performed previously it is having a breakout moment.Toyota’s first EV averaged less than 87 sales per month in 2025 but in 2026 it is averaging 330 sales per month so far; peaking at 483 sales in April.This is likely thanks to a renewed marketing push from Toyota, the RAV4 changeover and the high petrol prices leading Australian buyers to give it another look. How long this continues remains to be seen, but given the struggle Toyota has had with this model so far, this is a definite bright spot for the bZ4X.

Year-to-date registration data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) show ‘electrified’ passenger and light commercial vehicles have crossed a significant tipping point to become a more popular choice than traditional diesel and purely petrol-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) options in Australia.To the end of April, sales of battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles stood at 50,976 units, a 79.2 per cent increase on the same four-month period in 2025 (28,448 units).At the same time, sales of ICE vehicles (including light commercials but not heavy trucks) have dropped 35.9 per cent from 64,991 in 2025 to 47,813 units this year.Tellingly, sales of pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have grown by just over 100 per cent, with key players BYD up 110.8 per cent (25,243 vs 11,974) and Tesla 49.9 per cent year-on-year (8485 vs 5660).Individual (higher volume) stand-out BEV models include the BYD Sealion 7 and Dolphin, Geely EX5, Kia EV3, Tesla Model Y and Toyota bZ4X.And when it comes to hybrids, thanks to better supply of the new-generation version, the ever-popular Toyota RAV4 has come up to its more usual monthly sales rate and has been joined by its big-brother LandCruiser 300 Hybrid.Add in other relatively recent hybrid arrivals like the Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid joining now established disrupters like the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha and hybrid sales are set to expand even further. Clearly, April 2026 marked a historical moment in time for the Aussie new vehicle market.

Toyota has priced its upcoming upsized electric SUV, the bZ4X Touring.A sister car to the Subaru Trailseeker, and one of a handful of larger mainstream electric SUVs, the bZ4X Touring starts at $69,990 before on-road costs, topping out a restructured bZ4X range.It's only available with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup with 167kW at each axle, outputting a combined 280kW, making it Toyota's most powerful SUV. The brand says it can sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds.It has a 74.7kWh battery pack which grants it a 488km driving range according to the WLTP cycle. It can charge at up to 150kW on a fast DC charger or an impressive 22kW on AC for comparatively fast slow-charging rates.While the Touring shares its underpinnings with the regular bZ4X, it is 140mm longer, increasing boot space by nearly 100 litres, from 452L to 550L.Standard features are set to include dual-zone climate control, eight-way powered front seats with both heating and ventilation, a digital rear-vision mirror, fixed panoramic sunroof, dual wireless phone chargers, a 1500W inverter for vehicle-to-load charging and a 14-inch touchscreen with a nine-speaker premium audio system. It maintains the same 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster as before.The Touring scores unique 20-inch alloys compared to the rest of the bZ4X range, with front and rear skid plates, roof rails, matt finished wheel arches, a contrasting bonnet insert and a rear window wiper.Meanwhile, the recently-updated mainline bZ4X range continues in two variants, either the front-wheel-drive version, priced at $55,990, or the all-wheel drive, priced at $67,990.Interestingly the Touring forms part of the regular bZ4X range, while Subaru’s equivalent Trailseeker is sold as a separate model in two grades, distinct from its bZ4X-equivalent Solterra range.Stylistically, the two Subaru models are more distinct than the bZ4X and its Touring variant, which share the same face.The pair share an even larger three-row fully electric model each, the Toyota Highlander EV and Subaru Getaway, however they have been announced in left-hand drive for the North American market only for now.2026 Toyota bZ4X pricing 

Toyota’s latest collaboration with state-owned Chinese carmaker GAC is off to an impressive start with the launch of the pure-electric bZ7 large, fast-back-style sedan.Vice President of Sales for the GAC Toyota’s joint-venture Peng Baolin has confirmed the company booked over 3100 formal orders for the car within one hour of its official on-sale.While other recent newcomers have claimed even stronger initial interest (hello, 15,000 domestic Xiaomi SU7 sales in 30min), it’s a positive response to a critically important model.With a strong hint of Camry around the car’s face and other elements echoing the smaller bZ4X we already know in Australia, the single-motor, rear-wheel drive bZ7 is a substantial machine at just over 5.1m in long, close to 2.0m wide and 1.5m tall with a generous 3020mm wheelbase.Offered with two LFP battery sizes (71.35kWh and 88.13kWh) across five model grades, the bZ7’s power comes from a 207kW Huawei-sourced motor with claimed ranges of 600km, 700km and 710km, in line with the more lenient CLTC test protocol.A 3C fast-charging rate is claimed to deliver 300km of range in 10 minutes.Priced at ¥147,800 (~A$31,300) for the entry-level 600 Pro up to ¥199,800 (~A$42,300) for the flagship 710 Ultra, specification options include 20-inch wheels, front and rear seats with ventilation, heating and massage functions, the Huawei ‘HarmonyOS 5.0’ smart cockpit and ‘dual-chamber air suspension’ working in concert with an intelligent road surface pre-scanning system.Upper-level Lidar-equipped models boast one Lidar, five millimetre-wave radars, eleven high-definition cameras and 10 ultrasonic radars.It’s worth noting GAC Toyota also produces the smaller bZ3X electric SUV uniquely for China and Toyota Australia’s recently retired Vice President of sales and marketing (now Senior Executive Advisor) Sean Hanley had previously told CarsGuide the company has discussed the possibility of importing Chinese-made Toyotas to Australia.“We’ve certainly spoken about it we’ve not done any formal study to support that cause for Australia at this point,” said Hanley. “Having said that, it’s not something we would rule out in the future.“If we’ve got manufacturing joint operations under the Toyota brand, under Toyota quality, we certainly would never rule it out and we’d be silly to.“But if you’re going to convert left- to right-, you got to have some compelling volume,” he said.

Toyota has announced details of the bZ4X Touring electric mid-size SUV in Japan, which is an expanded version of the standard mid-size SUV.It is significantly longer than the standard BZ4X, measuring at 4690mm long, while it is otherwise dimensionally similar, with a 2850mm wheelbase. The all-wheel drive variant of the car has a dual motor system, which produces 280kW, meaning it can shift from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds.The new SUV's 74.69kWh battery offers a top-end driving range of 734km according to Japanese specifications, while charging up to 80 per cent takes just 28 minutes. This represents a noticeable improvement in both power output and driving range over the standard bZ4X currently sold in Australia. The Touring version of the bZ4X has a similar exterior design to the regular bZ4X, and rides on 20-inch wheels. The interior is equipped with a 14.0-inch central touchscreen display, along with a floating digital driver display. There are two wireless phone charging pads in the centre console of the car. The new Touring version will start from 5.75m Yen in Japan, which is around A$52,000, while the all-wheel drive variant starts from 6.4m Yen, or roughly A$58,000.Expect this new version of the bZ4X to be a bit more expensive than its Japanese list price when it comes to Australia in the second quarter of this year, as export versions usually attract a significant premium over the Japanese pricing the time they make it here.However, it will give Toyota a new and larger rival to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6, as the Japanese brand looks to make a larger impact on the EV SUV space.In Australia, the standard bZ4X starts from $55,990 (before on-road costs), after Toyota slashed its price late last year by more than $10,000, down from $66,000.This new bZ4X Touring, which is built alongside its Subaru sister car the Trailseeker in a Subaru factory, is already confirmed to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2026. Stay tuned for more updates imminently.

Japanese automakers are facing a future-threatening crisis that threatens their very survival, says Toyota's global CEO Koji Sato, speaking in his role as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association .As reported by US industry title Automotive News, one of the world's most important automotive CEOs has unveiled a seven-point plan to ward off new challengers, principally from China, before calling on Japanese auto makers to unite in the face of the challenge."The question is how we can identify Japan’s winning strategies,” the executive said. “To survive the current difficult environment and grow as a mobility industry, I believe it is essential for the entire auto sector to unite and enhance our international competitiveness.”Mr Sato has identified seven major challenges facing the Japanese industry, and how to combat them, and has called on all members of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association to support the "plan of action".Step one in the plan is to lock down a stable supply of rare earth materials and lithium, given Japan’s dependence on their import. That puts the country on a collision course with China, who has exerted influence over supply chains.Step two is to forgo an EV-only approach to its future, with Toyota’s long-touted “multi-pathway approach” that focuses on hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure-petrol powertrains in the mid-term. Toyota is also a supporter of hydrogen fuel cell technology.Step three is to invest in the most circular economy possible, linking brands together in tracing data and componentry.Step four is to take a lead out of Korea and China’s books, with both countries only too happy to embrace international expertise, be it in design or engineering. The plan highlights the challenge of attracting international talent to Japan, and insists that must change, especially in an era of software-heavy vehicles.Step five is to chase-down Tesla in vehicle autonomy - a field Japan was once a leader in - by removing regulatory roadblocks and introducing a locked-in deadline for full autonomy.Point six is to reform the taxes applied to vehicle sales in Japan, which can add up to thousands of dollars over the ownership cycle of a vehicle.And finally, point seven is to lower production costs by commonising componentry at scale, and building efficiency into the supply chain.“I believe it’s crucial to focus on how we can revitalise Japan’s automotive industry while building a sustainable business model,” Mr Sato said at a JAMA function. “I will strive to ensure Japan’s automotive industry can play a solid role within the global landscape.”

Toyota Australia’s only all-electric has just had its price massively slashed.

The age of SUVs is firmly upon us, and carmakers are rolling out high-riding wagons at an astonishing rate.

The electric car onslaught will continue in 2026 with the announcement of more than 20 new models in Australia.

Meet the Chinese Toyota locked-in for right-hand drive markets.