TOYOTA

bZ4X electrified crossover will be offered via lease to attract consumers in Japan

Last year, battery electric vehicles accounted for no more than 1% of the primary market in Japan, and the same hybrids are much more popular in this country. Toyota is bringing its first global electric crossover, the bZ4X, to the world market this year, and in Japan, it hasn't decided to sell it for ownership, but only offers to lease it.

According to the automaker, as reported by Reuters, such a scheme will attract more conservative customers to use the electric vehicle, who fear a drop in residual traction battery capacity, unpredictable repair costs and a rapid decrease in the cost of an electric vehicle in use. Taking insurance and regular service into account for four years, the Toyota bZ4X crossover will cost the company's Japanese customers $39,000 for the entire duration of the contract. Early termination is fraught with penalties.

Keep in mind that in the United States, for $42,000, the front-wheel drive version of this crossover can be obtained from the estate, and Toyota's Japanese customer, who disposed of a comparable amount in four years, will not retain any rights. ownership of the electric car. In the current fiscal year, which on Toyota's calendar will end next April, the company expects to lease around 5,000 bZ4X crossovers in Japan. At the end of last year, about the same number of Tesla electric vehicles were sold in this country. In addition to the United States, pre-orders for this car have already started to be accepted in some European countries. So far, Toyota has not decided when it will start selling the bZ4X in Japan.

Japan's electric vehicle imports tripled last year to 8,610 vehicles, about 60% of which were Tesla products. It must be said that Toyota Corporation in Japan initially distributed its Mirai hydrogen cars under a leasing scheme to legal entities, but this was mainly due to the high cost of the car. Some experts were skeptical of the idea of ​​leasing in the case of the Toyota bZ4X, especially on the terms offered.

Image source: Toyota Motor