Toyota has spent nearly 30 years positioning itself as a leader in “green” cars on the strengths of its fuel-sipping hybrid technology, which has now spread across almost its entire family of vehicles. The same cannot be said of its approach to fully electric cars, however. Its small family of all-EV crossovers sold in America—the Toyota bZ4X, Lexus RZ and close cousin Subaru Solterra—have all been criticized for their middling range and charging speeds.
But when asked by a reporter at a CES media roundtable what lessons Toyota learned from the bZ4X for future EVs, Toyota Motor North America President and CEO Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa had an unusually candid answer: We get it.
“For the comment regarding the bZ4X and [Lexus] RZ, yes, we have received some criticism, and we are aware and recognize the feedback,” Ogawa said through an interpreter. But then he got specific, too. “For example, it’s too expensive, or the driving range is too short,” he said. “Those kinds of voices, we have recognized. So we’ll continue to make improvements based on the voices that we hear.”
At this point, it’s fair to say the bZ4X and its brethren haven’t lit the world on fire like the first two generations of Prius did—especially as the EV market becomes increasingly competitive in the U.S. and globally. The world’s largest automaker has made some changes to the bZ4X family since they first went on sale in 2022, including improving their DC fast-charging speeds, lowering prices and adding more features.
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But for 2025, the bZ4X will deliver just 252 or 228 miles of range in front- or all-wheel-drive forms, respectively—not exactly a barn-burner at a time when customers increasingly demand at least 300 miles of range and many competitors are delivering much more than that. The EVs also tap out at 150 kW DC fast charging and some users have reported needing as much as an hour to juice up during road trips; again, this comes at a time when many comparable EVs from Chevrolet, Hyundai or Kia will do the same in 30 minutes or even less.
Nonetheless, the bZ4X has a lot of potential. In a test last summer, I found it to be attractive, easy to operate, practical and surprisingly athletic—quicker and better in the corners than many EVs. And while Toyota’s software game still needs work to run with the best, the bZ4X still found its fans. Sales were up 99% in 2024 on the strength of outstanding lease and financing deals (and no doubt, people’s desire for an electric Toyota) and it actually outsold several other gas-powered and hybrid Toyota and Lexus models. The bZ4X is also finding a huge fanbase with rideshare drivers, especially those in places like New York City who have come to depend on hybrid Camry and RAV4 models to move people around. The 2025 bZ4X now starts at $37,070.
But maybe Toyota is feeling the heat somewhat from competitors like Hyundai and Kia, and now even Honda. The Honda Prologue may be a re-skinned General Motors EV, but it still sold nearly twice as many examples as the bZ4X despite only being on sale for about the second half of 2024. People want good, high-quality EVs from the Japanese automakers, including Toyota.
Yet Ogawa and the other Toyota executives at CES, who came to promote the next phase of the Woven City project, insisted the automaker is far from done with EVs as it transitions into a “mobility company” focused on lowering emissions. It has, however, balked at the idea of an all-electric future as many competitors committed to. (And as the world’s largest automaker by volume, it has the scale and R&D to offer customers a lot of different cars when competitors cannot.)
2024 Toyota bZ4X: Dual-voltage charging cable
“I’ve now strengthened my belief that when we talk about achieving carbon neutrality, we should be focusing on reducing carbon,” Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said. “What Toyota has always been doing is not to society [as] a competition of hybrids versus battery EVs. What we’ve also been trying to do is to offer choices to our customers.” Those include gas cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell hydrogen vehicles, Toyoda said.
Ogawa added that part of that is making EVs and hybrids—and perhaps more importantly, their batteries—in the U.S. “That’s why we decided on the investment in Kentucky for EV production, and also the North Carolina battery production plant,” Ogawa said.
Still, Toyota has since delayed production of a three-row electric SUV in Kentucky from this year to 2026, citing “production preparation issues,” potential design changes and uneven market demands. Many other automakers announced delays or outright cancellations of electric models last year as industry-wide demand failed to match rosy expectations, even as the U.S. finished the year with record EV sales. However, Ogawa also said the North Carolina plant will make batteries for hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars as well as part of its larger electrification strategy.
Toyota has been promising a wave of improved, next-generation EVs for some time now, as well as long-sought solid-state batteries. If it can finally deliver, there’s no reason to believe that high-range, fast-charging electric Toyotas won’t find an audience.
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