C-HR BEV: will New Zealand get Toyota’s cheapest electric SUV? 

Toyota recently announced its all-electric version of the C-HR SUV will be launching in Australia in mid-2027. 

Despite sharing a name and its looks with the C-HR, this pure electric version is a different vehicle beneath. Bigger in dimensions, this SUV is more akin to the Corolla Cross Hybrid and bZ4X than the current C-HR. 

In Australia, just one variant of the C-HR BEV will be offered, it gets a 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery, and a single electric motor on the front axle. The peak outputs are 165kW/269Nm.

Australia will be getting a long-range front-wheel drive version with the larger of the two battery options. It allows for DC charging at up to 150kW, while AC charging is capped at 22kW. 

Though Australian pricing hasn’t been released yet, it will likely be cheaper than the b4ZX. 

The C-HR BEV would be in a similar position if it made it to New Zealand, priced below the bZ4X starting point of $57,990. 

As for local availability of the C-HR BEV, NZ Autocar reached out to Toyota. 

In response, a spokesperson for Toyota NZ said: “We are not currently in a position to comment on that.”

So while Toyota New Zealand are remaining tight-lipped about this C-HR BEV, it would be surprising to see it not join our local market at some point.

The brand’s local arm has recently committed to sell the all-electric HiLux, which will join the hybrid HiLux and a hydrogen fuel cell model down the line.