Toyota announced Thursday that it plans to produce a new three-row battery-electric SUV in Princeton, Indiana, with a corresponding investment of $1.4 billion at the plant.
The company emphasized that this announcement comes in conjunction with its recent announcement Investment of 1.3 billion USD at the automaker’s Kentucky plant, to build a separate three-row battery-electric SUV. starting from 2025
In other words, yes, Toyota will have two different three-row electric SUVs. A report from earlier this month identified one of those electric vehicles as the Toyota Highlander EV is fully electric—with potential Lexus TZ sibling. A report Thursday from Automotive news suggests that with this vehicle coming to Indiana in 2026, the Kentucky plant’s EV going into production in 2025 could be a Toyota bZ5X.
2023 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD
Reports suggest that Toyota is rethinking the bZ nomenclature for electric vehicles, and as such, it’s unclear which of these two SUVs — the Highlander EV or the bZ5X — will be the more premium one or if they can coexist how.
The best hint at a second car came in May 2023, when Toyota said its 2026 electric cars would be built on three different platforms—a software platform, an electronics platform, and a body and chassis. Toyota also said it is completely rethinking the electric vehicle production process. So maybe the Kentucky EV could represent all of these advancements while, as Automotive News points out—seemingly agreeing with this association—the Indiana EV will be a “chassis-based” vehicle. shares parts with gasoline models.
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept
So the big one Land Cruiser Se concept shown in Tokyo in October 2023 could be switched to production in Kentucky, followed by a slightly smaller Highlander EV.
In May 2023, Toyota said it plans to launch 10 new electric vehiclesfrom luxury vehicles to compact cars and commercial vehicles, “primarily in the United States and China” by 2026. That would help Toyota reach a “baseline” of 1.5 million EVs by 2026.
With Thursday’s announcement, the automaker will also add new battery assemblies to its $13.9 billion battery manufacturing facility in North Carolina, which is expected to begin production in 2025 for a series of tram. According to Toyota, the Indiana EV announcement itself adds “340 new, sustainable jobs in the United States.”
2024 Lexus TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid
As Toyota pointed out, the Indiana plant employed 7,500 people and produced Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan, Toyota Highlander and Grand Highlander SUV, offered in hybrid and non-hybrid versions. It also produces the Lexus TX, offered in standard, hybrid and TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid variations.
