Toyota’s electric SUV clears 17,500 sales, outpacing the Land Cruiser and key EV rivals
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- Toyota bZ sold 17,553 units in the first half of 2026, up 90% from a year earlier, according to company sales figures reported by Electrek
- The bZ outsold Toyota's own Land Cruiser (16,412) and Sequoia (13,939) in the same period, and beat the Chevy Equinox EV, whose sales fell 41% to 16,249
- The 2026 bZ starts at $35,000, offers up to 314 miles of range (25% more than the outgoing model), more powerful motors, a battery preconditioning system, and a standard NACS port for Tesla Superchargers
- Hyundai IONIQ 5 still leads the segment with more than 20,000 units sold in H1 2026, up 9% from 2025
- Lexus RZ sales reached 7,814 in H1 2026, outselling every single Cadillac electric SUV including the Lyriq (7,578) and Optiq (7,083)
- Toyota sold 155,074 pure-electric vehicles globally in May, up 138% year-over-year, even as overall global sales fell 7.2%
- Toyota and Lexus will launch their first three-row electric SUVs later this year — the 2027 Highlander BEV and Lexus TZ
Why it matters: At $35,000 with 314 miles of range, Toyota's bZ is now outselling legacy gas SUVs like the Land Cruiser — proof that Toyota's long-delayed EV push is landing with US buyers. But the source flags Hyundai's IONIQ 5 still leads the segment at 20,000+ units, and upcoming rivals (Rivian R2, Lucid midsize crossover, Ford UEV models) will test whether Toyota can hold these gains.
