Toyota is the latest automaker to drop prices by a significant amount on its electric vehicles in China, after Tesla started this trend early in the year.
The Japanese automaker has reduced the price of its bZ4X electric SUV in China by 30,000 RMB, which amounts to approximately $4,350 at the current exchange rate.
After the 15 percent price cut, the Toyota bZ4X now starts at 169,800 RMB ($24,660), making it way more affordable than in the US, where it carries a $42,000 starting MSRP. The price reduction has been operated simultaneously by the two joint ventures that sell the Toyota bZ4X – FAW-Toyota and GAC-Toyota.
In addition to the significant discount, the electric SUV can now be equipped with a solar charging module, which Toyota claims it can provide up to 1,750 kilometers (1,087 miles) of additional driving range per year. The solar roof panel is offered as an option for 20,000 RMB ($2,900).
In China, the Toyota bZ4X is available in two different powertrain variants, single motor and dual motor. The front-wheel-drive model makes 150 kilowatts (201 horsepower) and 266 Newton-meters (196 pound-feet) of torque, while the all-wheel-drive model offers a total of 160 kW (214 hp) and 337 Nm (248 lb-ft).
Both versions offer the choice of two battery packs with capacities of 50.3 kWh and 66.7 kWh. The larger battery can provide a range of up to 615 km (382 miles) according to the CLTC test cycle. The Toyota bZ4X AWD can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.9 seconds.
Since its Chinese market launch in October 2022 through January 2023, Toyota sold 3,844 bZ4X SUVs, accounting for 0.26 percent of China's huge BEV market. Despite the tiny market share, the bZ4X was the best-selling Japanese EV in China in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In addition to the bZ4X, Toyota also sells the C-HR EV/IZOA twins in China. Since the automaker sold a total of 4,037 pure electric vehicles in China last year, it means that the subcompact electric crossovers accounted for a small part of the sales, with the bZ4X taking the lion's share.
Toyota's EV sales in China are likely to increase significantly this year as the bZ3 electric sedan will launch this quarter. Powered by BYD's Blade LFP battery, the second model in Toyota's bZ family of EVs is a Tesla Model 3 rival claimed to offer a CLTC range of 600 kilometers (372 miles).
