Toyota’s biggest electric SUV is almost here

Toyota promised to launch a three-row electric SUV, and it might finally be making good on that promise. In a cryptic teaser image, Toyota hinted at “something new on the horizon,” with what appears to be a larger SUV, possibly the Highlander EV.

When is Toyota launching the electric Highlander SUV

It’s been almost three years now since Toyota first announced plans to build a new three-row electric SUV in the US.

Toyota initially planned to begin production at its Princeton, Indiana, plant by the end of 2025. However, Toyota pushed the timeline back last September to focus on ramping up output of the gas-powered Grand Highlander SUV.

The new three-row electric SUV, which will likely carry the Highlander name, will now be built at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, facility, starting later this year.

Toyota teased what appears to be our first look at the Highlander EV in a cryptic image on Tuesday with the caption, “something new is on the horizon.” Although Toyota doesn’t directly come out and say it, all signs point to it being the three-row electric SUV.

The big, boxy design looks nearly identical to the Grand Highlander (pictured on the right), Toyota’s largest electric SUV. You can see a few updated design elements from the gas-powered version, including a full-length LED lightbar.

With Toyota dropping the numbers from its EV names (the bZ4X is now the bZ), the three-row electric SUV is expected to launch as the bZ Highlander, or something similar.

Toyota already has a mid-size electric SUV, the 2026 bZ, and a smaller crossover, the C-HR, arriving soon, leaving room for a larger three-row EV.

Although it was delayed and will now be built in Kentucky, Toyota is still expected to reveal the three-row electric SUV in the next few months as it gears up to begin production. It will likely debut as a 2027 model.

The company confirmed last year that it still “plans to produce two all-new, three-row battery electric SUVs in the US,” adding it will “now assemble both vehicles at Toyota Kentucky.” The other will be a larger Subaru twin to the Highlander EV.

Although it just went on sale, the bZ Woodland is Toyota’s biggest electric SUV in the US, measuring 190.2″ in length. The Highlander is nearly 195″ long, while the Grand Highlander measures over 200″.

We will learn more closer to its official debut, but Toyota’s three-row electric SUV will compete in a growing segment with the Kia EV9, Hyundai IONIQ 9, Rivian R1S, Volvo EX90, and several others.