2026 Toyota C-HR+: New electric SUV wears a familiar name

Toyota’s new small electric SUV may use the company’s e-TNGA electric vehicle (EV) platform, but it shares its name with a long-running combustion-powered model.

The Toyota C-HR+ is the production version of the bZ Compact SUV concept revealed in November 2022, and is slightly larger than the similarly named C-HR.

While it’ll go on sale in “selected European markets” in late 2025, where it’ll slot in above the new Urban Cruiser, Toyota has yet to announce launch timing for Australia.

Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.

“Toyota Australia is committed to our multi-pathway approach to decarbonisation, and we are always looking for ways to expand our electrification line up, however, we have nothing to announce today,” said a company spokesperson.

CarExpert understands the C-HR+ will eventually come here, however.

Toyota Australia previously confirmed in 2023 it plans to to have three EVs here by 2026, including the bZ4X already on sale, though it hasn’t provided any clarity since then on what these additional models will be and when exactly they’ll arrive.

The C-HR+ will be offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive and two different batteries. Note the range figures are tentative.

Toyota notes that outside its GR performance car range, the C-HR+ – in dual-motor all-wheel drive guise – will be its most powerful model in Europe.

The company hasn’t specified the battery chemistry, but says the C-HR+ will support DC charging at up to 150kW.

An 11kW onboard charger is standard if you’re topping up the car with AC power, with a 22kW unit available.

The C-HR+ also features battery pre-conditioning, which can be operated manually or automatically, and an energy-saving heat pump for the air-conditioning and heated seats, steering wheel and windscreen.

Toyota has emphasised the C-HR+ will have “rewarding dynamic performance and a fun-to-drive character”, and says the use of an EV platform means it has greater body rigidity and a lower centre of gravity than the regular C-HR.

With its rakish roofline, creased sides and slim, C-shaped headlights – which include adaptive high-beam – the C-HR+ looks similar albeit far from identical to the smaller C-HR.

Here’s how the C-HR+ compares with the hybrid C-HR in terms of dimensions:

The interior looks vastly different from the hybrid C-HR, with a free-standing digital instrument cluster and a more squared-off dashboard design.

There’s a standard 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system, up from 12.3 inches in the hybrid model.

Toyota also says there’s a suite of active safety and driver assistance features. While it hasn’t published a full list, it says all C-HR+s will come with blind-spot monitoring and Toyota’s Parking Support Brake.

The satellite navigation system can calculate routes with convenient charging station options based on the state of charge and remaining range.

A surround-view camera is available in high-spec models, while all models have MyToyota app connectivity allowing you to remotely monitor aspects such as the charging status and remaining range.

While the use of the C-HR nameplate may seem confusing, it’s actually part of an effort to reduce customer confusion.

Globally, the brand has been buzzing off the confusing bZ names, as it instead moves to more familiar badges for its EVs except in China.

“We have a number of models. If you start multiplying by technology, by segment, the nameplates tend to proliferate too much. We wanted to rationalise this,” Toyota Europe marketing and product development director Andrea Carlucci told Autocar earlier this year.

“[Toyota wants to] avoid this inflation of nameplates for the simplicity of the consumer.”

MORE: Everything Toyota C-HR