According to a new report from Toyota Highlander, the mid-size SUV Toyota Highlander can run entirely on electricity, while the Grand Highlander will continue to use an internal combustion engine. xebuzz.
This is part of a strategy to replace the alphanumeric naming used by Toyota bZ4X—currently the only electric vehicle in Toyota’s U.S. lineup—with more conventional names, according to the report. Just as the current Highlander shares its platform with the Lexus RX, the Highlander EV could have a Lexus sibling, possibly called the TZ, according to the report.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2024
Meanwhile, the Grand Highlander, which just debuted as a 2024 model, is expected to continue using the same powertrain combination as the current version, available in gasoline and hybrid form.
Toyota confirmed 3-row electric SUV in 2023, with production expected in 2025 in Kentucky. It also increased investment in the Kentucky plant earlier this year to support assembly of the vehicle, including the addition of a battery assembly line that will be supplied with batteries from another Toyota facility currently under construction in North Carolina.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2024
Toyota also shows Land Cruiser Se concept SUV last fall. While we expect that to be the look of the Kentucky-built three-row SUV, it’s possible that in production it will look more like the Highlander.
The current generation Highlander isn’t available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain like the smaller RAV4, but Hybrid Highlands earns a respectable 36 mpg when combined with front-wheel drive. The Highlander was last redesigned for the 2020 model year, so it will be updated. So, if Toyota is indeed planning to switch to an all-electric powertrain, we may get official confirmation soon.
