Toyota Motor Corp. received another leasing order for the bZ4X, its first mass-produced electric vehicle, in Japan, Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Toyota reduced its initial rental fee by 50 percent to attract consumer interest in a car that underwent a safety recall just two months after its launch.
When Toyota introduced the car in May, it charged a first-time rental application fee of 770,000 yen on top of the 107,800 yen monthly rent for the first four years of the 10-year contract.
As of Wednesday, the registration fee is 385,000 yen while the monthly fee is 1,100 yen less. Those who pre-register are entitled to a discount, said Shinya Kotera, president of KINTO, Toyota’s unit that offers rentals.
“Come to think of it, we felt the price was a bit too high,” he said, adding electric vehicles were also available for corporate rental (fleet).
The discount is “painful” and unlikely to result in a significant sales spike, but KINTO could still turn a profit, the former Toyota official told Reuters in an interview on Oct. 19.
The automaker recalled the bZ4X and stopped production within two months of launch because it found that the hub bolts on the wheels could easily come off during sudden braking and increase the risk of the wheels falling off. This model returns to production on October 6.
Toyota initially targeted to lease 5,000 bZ4X crossovers in the current fiscal year, but Kotera said that would be difficult to achieve after the recall and due to its cautious approach to electric vehicles in a country that lacks charging infrastructure.
“I don’t think we’re in an environment where customers who are going to buy a Toyota bZ4X will jump at the chance to buy it, so we should take the time to try,” he said.
