Toyota’s Three-Row Electric SUV: Everything We Know
Toyota has been late to the electric vehicle market, but more recently, the automaker has been trying to catch up with its rivals.
Between Toyota and Lexus, about half a dozen new or refreshed EVs will be on sale in the U.S. this year. That includes the upgraded bZ, the off-road bZ Woodland, the sporty C-HR alongside the refreshed Lexus RZ and all-new ES sedan. There’s little reason to believe that Toyota will stop there.
The automaker will soon reveal its next electrified vehicle, which we believe is going to be its first three-row electric SUV. Toyota teased the model recently, revealing both its exterior rear design and its interior, which points to a high-tech and modern EV.
Here’s what we know so far.
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Source: Toyota
Toyota Three-Row Electric SUV Design
In 2021, the Japanese automaker showcased no less than 15 futuristic EV concepts as part of its “beyond zero” offensive. This included a Toyota pickup truck, a Lexus supercar and also what Toyota called a “bZ large SUV,” among many other concepts.
The bZ large SUV looks like a grown-up, more mature version of the bZ. The concept has a dual-tone paint scheme, with the body in silver and the roof and hood in black. Just like the bZ, it has a slim bar of chrome connecting the headlamps. It also has a slender greenhouse and what looks like wraparound rear taillamps.
Toyota’s upcoming three-row electric SUV teased.
Photo by: Toyota
The most telling design elements emerge from the new teaser images and patents. The SUV appears to have a long and chiseled body with the familiar design language as the new RAV4, Camry and the bZ. It has a raised belt line along with sharp cuts and creases that make it appear futuristic.
At the rear, the horizontal LED light bar in the teaser matches the one in the patent images, which gives us a pretty good clue that the upcoming model is electric. Expect the Lexus version to be even more sophisticated with signature elements like the spindle grille, larger wheels and more premium interior.
Interior teaser of Toyota’s upcoming three-row electric points to a high-tech cabin.
Photo by: Toyota
Toyota also teased an interior image recently, which points to three rows with captain chains in the middle row. The teaser also gives us a pretty great look at the dashboard, which has a large, Tesla-style screen at the center complimented by a digital gauge cluster. Other elements that Toyota isn’t hiding include the panoramic glass roof, ambient lighting and dedicated climate controls for the second-row.
It looks like a premium cabin, and clearly a level above the bZ, which has a mix of large screens and hard plastics everywhere.
Battery And Powertrain Details
We’ll know more about the battery and powertrain on February 10, when Toyota will officially debut the new model. But for the size and class of this vehicle, a dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration should be available. More than 300 miles of range should also be a no-brainer.
We know that Toyota has been working on a bunch of different battery programs, including long-range solid-state batteries. But there’s little information out there on how far these programs have come and automakers tend to be tight-lipped about future products.
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Toyota said last year that three of those programs involve new liquid electrolyte technologies and one with solid-state batteries. An electrolyte is a solution inside a battery that allows the transfer of charge-carrying particles between the positive and negative terminals.
The automaker has said it was working on improving charging speeds, achieving higher energy density compared to today’s batteries and reducing production costs. It also made some bold claims, that future models would deliver between 497 and 620 miles of range.
Would these new generation batteries make it to the three-row electric SUV? Your guess is as good as mine.
Where Will The Toyota Family SUV Be Made?
Toyota is pouring billions of dollars into manufacturing EVs and producing batteries locally in the U.S. It announced in June last year that the three-row electric SUV would be manufactured at an expanded facility at the brand’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant.
However Nikkei reported that the Lexus alternative will likely be made in Japan.
Photo by: Toyota
The Japanese automaker has also invested 13.9 billion dollars towards battery production in North Carolina. The construction and tooling of that plant is now complete and it will begin supplying locally-made batteries for Toyota’s U.S. models later this year.
This investment would support batteries for BEVs, PHEVs and conventional hybrids. Toyota has said that this facility will be the “epicenter of lithium-ion battery production in North America.” An equivalent Subaru model will also be made in Kentucky, Automotive News reported last year. Moreover, similar Lexus models also seem to be in the pipeline.
Toyota Three-Row Electric SUV Price And Availability
We don’t expect the future Toyota model to come cheap. It would be positioned above the bZ, which currently starts at approximately $35,000 before destination. The Toyota family SUV should compete with the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9, which are priced between $55,000-$80,000. Production is expected to begin sometime in 2026.
Toyota earned its “laggard in the EV race” reputation because of its infamous anti-climate lobbying and a reluctance to embrace EVs fast enough, despite being the early pioneer of hybrids such as the Prius. And Toyota is by far the most dominant maker of hybrids in the world, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
The EV market is undergoing turbulence as the tax credits are gone, vehicle emissions targets have been rolled back and tariffs continue to hurt automakers’ bottom lines even as the EV shift continues to be capital intensive. If Toyota delivers the models it has promised, it may end up becoming the unexpected savior of the EV industry.
Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
