Toyota presents the first battery electric car bZ4X

Toyota Motor presented its first mass-produced battery-electric car bZ4X in Japan on Thursday for lease only.

This is a part of the strategy as the automaker says will help ease driver concerns about battery life and resale value.

Gasoline-electric hybrid models continue to remain popular in Japan compared to electric vehicles (EVs), which represented just 1% of the passenger cars sold in the country last year. Nevertheless, the market is growing fast and foreign automakers are also investing there.

The deal involves insurance, repair costs, and a battery warranty, and will allow Toyota to lease the bZ4X sport utility vehicles (SUV) at the equivalent of $39,000 for the first 4 years. Cancelling in the first 48 months will mean an extra fee.

The automaker plans to lease 5,000 of the SUVs in the current financial year.

The bZ4X will be sold in other markets later this year, and pre-orders are currently taking place in some European countries.

Toyota is yet to take a decision on when it will start selling bZ4X cars in Japan.