Toyota launches new bZ4X electric car, then attacks Govt emissions policy

Most new-car launches are upbeat affairs with plenty of positivity and hyperbole, but the debut of the hotly anticipated bZ4X didn’t follow the script.

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Car launches are typically full of hyperbole, fanfare and half truths.

But Toyota certainly couldn’t be accused of pumping up the tyres of electric vehicles at the launch of its first EV, the bZ4X.

Toyota sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley is one of the best salesmen in the industry but he’s also a passionate straight shooter who isn’t shy about sharing an opinion with the media.

And the speech he gave at the bZ4X launch (disclaimer: I didn’t attend but was given a copy of the speech) was more straight-shooter than salesman.

It started with the right level of pomp and ceremony. Hanley called the bZ4X “the foundation for the next phase of Toyota’s electrification strategy and one of the most important vehicles we have ever launched”.

Toyota says the bZ4X is one of the most important vehicles the company has launched. Picture: Supplied.

He went on to talk about the company’s $20 million investment in charging facilities, some of which would be available to non-Toyota drivers, and its decision to set up a dedicated BEV division to train technicians.

He mentioned Toyota’s decades of experience with electric motors and batteries, courtesy of its hybrid development. He then talked quite a bit more about the 400,000 hybrids the brand had sold in Australia.

The tone was upbeat and confident, until suddenly it wasn’t.

What followed was more honesty than hyperbole, including the following: “the mainstream appeal of BEVs is not quite there”, “They’re mostly fairly expensive” and “They’ve got limitations in how you use them”. Limitations which, he added, were “more severe” for commercial vehicles (read utes).

Toyota’s vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, took a big swipe at the government’s fuel efficiency targets. Photo by Michael Willson via Getty Images.

Then came a good old-fashioned kick in the crown jewels for our Energy and Climate Change Minister, Chris Bowen, who is in the process of introducing some fairly unpopular vehicle emissions standards.

It started in a conciliatory tone.

“We understand they are trying to do the best they can under challenging circumstances”.

Those “challenging circumstances” are that a very large chunk of Aussies loves utes and 4WDs, the bigger and thirstier the better.

“Nevertheless, the proposed transition timing is too quick, the trajectory too steep – especially for large four-wheel-drive SUVs and light-commercial vehicles,” Hanley said.

“It simply doesn’t recognise the technical hurdles, the lengthy time and the substantial cost

that will be required to deliver commercial BEVs that are practical, capable and affordable.

“In short, unless the final scheme is less aggressive, it will have a profound negative impact

on regional and rural Australia – and that will reverberate throughout the Australian

economy.”

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen is pushing for tough new emissions laws. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

If that wasn’t enough Hanley suggested that a “perverse consequence” of the legislation could result in buyers holding onto their cars longer, defeating the entire purpose of the standard.

“This is the market reality and the market truth.”

Pity the poor Toyota employee who is handling negotiations with Canberra on the new fuel standards after that spray.

But enough negativity, back to the bZ4X.

Hanley announced Toyota was offering a “full-service lease” for the bZ4X “taking away the concerns being expressed globally about residual values for BEVs”.

Toyota says residual values for electric vehicles have fallen overseas. Picture: Supplied.

This was a necessary step because in Europe “many carmakers have significantly cut prices for new BEVs in a bid to counter weaker-than-expected demand from mainstream buyers”.

“This has led to even bigger reductions in the value of used BEVs.”

That may be true, but as a sales pitch for the bZ4X it falls a little flat.

Finally, 75 slides into his presentation, Hanley managed to channel his inner salesman and deliver some good old-fashioned hyperbole.

“It’s an exciting, sophisticated and outstandingly reliable BEV that’s based on more than 20

years of battery experience and more than 20 million electrified cars that we have put on the

road.”

Cue the mic drop.