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Australian customer deliveries of the Toyota bZ4X electric SUV have been supercharged by the arrival of an updated model, with a "further uptick" last month amid high fuel prices.
Electric Cars
Demand for the 2026 Toyota bZ4X electric SUV has risen by "almost" three times after a major technical update last year boosted driving range and dropped the entry price by $10,010.
Toyota Australia says the significant update to its first electric vehicle, the RAV4-sized bZ4X, has been "received very, very well" even before ongoing fuel price pressures saw a "further uptick" in sales last month.
The 2026 bZ4X, which went on sale in Australia in December 2025, has recorded 840 sales year-to-date, up 300 per cent from the same time last year.
In March 2026, amid record-high fuel prices across Australia, bZ4X deliveries increased nearly 600 per cent compared with the same month in 2025 – from 64 to 447 – in an electric-vehicle market up 42.3 per cent, and an overall market down 2.6 per cent.
Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations John Pappas said customer demand for the bZ4X was already increasing naturally since the update launched.
“The updated model that we recently introduced has been received very, very well. Customers are responding extremely well to the product and the value proposition it provides," Pappas said.
The senior executive said Toyota Australia is forecasting to deliver 5000 bZ4Xs in 2026 – averaging 417 sales each month – following the 1041 examples delivered in 2025, most of which were the original version.
However, it is still well behind the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7, which are each expected to sell around 20,000 units this year based on their current monthly sales averages.
"We were seeing almost a three times uplift in demand and run rate on the new bZ4X before [the current fuel issue]. That vehicle is a real step up," Pappas said.
“In the last month, as more of this Iran fuel concern goes on out in the marketplace and globally, there’s no doubt that more and more people are now enquiring – who weren’t even considering EVs at this point in time – about a BEV (battery electric vehicle), or even a plug-in hybrid.
"Our plug-in hybrid demand at the moment is very strong on the new RAV4.
"It’s almost like you’ve had this natural increase in demand on the bZ4X because of the value of the vehicle, the value proposition to the customer, and now we’ve seen an even further uptick in terms of demand based on the Iran fuel situation."
"I don’t want to take away from the vehicle. A lot of people are thinking, 'It’s all because of the fuel thing,' but in actual fact, it’s not.
"There has been a really good natural increase in the demand of the vehicle, which is great, from the early adopter phase until now, and now we’re seeing more on top."
Now priced from $55,990 before on-road costs – down from $66,000 – the entry-level, front-wheel-drive bZ4X undercuts Australia's best-selling electric vehicle, the Tesla Model Y (from $58,900).
Changes include a larger 74.7kWh battery pack with more efficient electric motors and inverters for increased driving range – now rated at 591km WLTP for the FWD – along with faster home charging, styling revisions, a larger touchscreen, and new technology.
The all-wheel-drive bZ4X now costs $67,990 – $6910 less than the outgoing model – with a more-powerful 252kW dual-motor setup, along with a 517km WLTP range rating and more standard features.
An elongated version, the bZ4X Touring, is due to arrive in Australia mid-year, offering a larger boot, more rear-seat headroom, and standard dual-motor all-wheel-drive with 280kW.
“We’ve got the bZ4X Touring series coming… that car is going to be another great car in our line-up from a zero-and-low-emission vehicle perspective," Pappas said.
Matching the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra, the bZ4X Touring is Toyota's equivalent to the Subaru Trailseeker, which is also due in Australian showrooms at a similar time.
The Trailseeker shares the bZ4X Touring's 280kW dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, with a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.4 seconds.
The bZ4X and bZ4X Touring, along with the new HiLux BEV, will be joined by the smaller C-HR BEV, due mid-2027.
Toyota Australia says it won't be fast-tracked "at this stage", even if electric-car demand continues to increase.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
