Toyota bZ4X electric car to be renamed – report
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A rebrand is reportedly inbound for Toyota’s first global-market electric car after three years in overseas showrooms.
The Toyota bZ4X electric SUV is tipped to receive a new name – within two years since its Australian arrival – according to an overseas reports.
Canadian website Motor Illustrated reports the bZ4X name change will occur “over the next year,” citing Toyota Canada’s Regional Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Patrick Ryan.
North American media reports have speculated the change will occur for Model Year 2026, which would suggest an announcement in the second half of next year – 18 months after its Australian launch.
It is unclear if the bZ4X will adopt a revised badge under Toyota’s Beyond Zero electrified vehicle sub-brand – the bZ in its current name – or a different nameplate entirely.
MORE: Toyota plans two more electric cars for Australia by 2027
Toyota recently unveiled the Urban Cruiser, a small electric SUV for Europe that would have been a good fit for a name such as bZ2X or bZ3X.
The bZ4X – with ‘4’ referencing its size similarity to the RAV4, and ‘X’ for ‘crossover SUV’ – has not been a top seller for the US car giant.
It reported about 13,500 bZ4Xs as sold in the US over the first nine months of 2024 – compared to 350,000 petrol and hybrid RAV4s.
In Australia, 914 examples of the electric car have been reported as sold this year – from February to November 2024 – compared to more than 51,000 RAV4s over the same period.
The bZ4X is on track to fall short of the company’s sales forecasts in Australia – with an estimated 1200 sales over its first 12 months, against a target of 1500 – which had already been slashed from several thousand cars.
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