The Toyota bZ4X is back for 2026. Well, sort of. This year, the electrified Toyota SUV drops the “4X” from its clumsy moniker in favor of a simpler name. It’s not just the name, either. The new bZ is quicker, has better charging architecture, and a smaller price tag, to boot. 

The Toyota bZ4x is no more– in its place, the bZ simplifies things and gets a better, smaller price tag

For 2026, the once-bZ4X is now the Toyota bZ. See? Much better, right? It brings to mind the conversation between Justin Timberlake’s character, Sean Parker, and Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.”

At one point, Parker tells young Zuckerberg to drop the “The” from his idea for Facebook, which was then “The Facebook.” Parker allegedly told Zuckerberg it was “cleaner,” a recommendation Toyota seems to have adopted for itself.

But that’s just the name change. The new compact SUV is also cheaper than its lengthier-named predecessor. Starting prices for the new bZ drop to around $36,350 for the base XLE trim, a decrease of $2,170 from the previous year.

The new bZ also gets a new NACS port that works with Tesla’s Supercharger stations. Toyota says the new platform will recharge its battery from 10% to 80% in just 30 minutes using one of the DC fast-charging stations, but only time will tell if the new bZ can make good on that claim.

Toyota seems to be positioning the compact EV SUV as a more accessible contender in the segment, taking aim at rivals like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Kia EV6. 

It’s not the first time Toyota’s resident compact EV SUV has gotten a price cut

The Japanese marque has established a trend of lowering the cost of entry for the bZ. For instance, Toyota cut the cost of its entry-level bZ4X XLE trim from $44,465 to $38,520 from the 2024 to the 2025 model. That’s more than twice the price reduction from the 2025 model to the 2026 version.