- Expect the all-electric version of the Highlander to be delayed at least until the first quarter of 2027.
- Toyota confirmed “additional adjustments” are being made, but didn’t specify those adjustments.
- Gas and hybrid versions of the Highlander 3-row SUV continue to be made and sold.
Toyota has delayed production of the 2027 Highlander EV due to “additional adjustments” to the brand’s first electric 3-row SUV, a Toyota spokesperson confirmed to Kelley Blue Book today. Gas-only and hybrid versions of the SUV will continue to be made.
Revealed in February, the automaker expected the Highlander EV to take the spot of the current Toyota Highlander and go on sale late this year or in early 2027. The current model is offered in a full gas version rated at 24 mpg combined or as a hybrid that earns 35 mpg. Now, Toyota says the Highlander EV will be delayed “a minimum of eight weeks.”
The delay might also be due to market conditions. EV sales have slowed due to regulatory changes while hybrid sales have surged alongside gas prices related to the war in Iran.
The 2027 Highlander EV would have arrived at a time when Toyota ramped up its EV product line this year, with three new EVs on sale now: the Toyota C-HR small SUV, the redesigned bZ compact SUV, and the new midsize bZ Woodland SUV. Initial sales of those three models add up to nearly the sales of the aging Highlander in the second quarter of 2026, according to data from Kelley Blue Book parent Cox Automotive, with the bZ making up most of Toyota’s EV sales volume.
The domestic market might not support three, let alone four EV models from the same brand, even from the world’s largest automaker. But Toyota’s not alone.
“A majority of automakers reported lower EV sales in the second quarter as manufacturers continue to reassess product plans and investment strategies,” Cox Automotive reported in its Q2 outlook released today.
Complicating the 3-row SUV segment is Toyota’s own Grand Highlander, introduced in 2024 as a larger, more premium take on the smaller Highlander. The original Highlander launched in 2000 and was last redesigned in 2020. Last year, Toyota made all-wheel drive (AWD) standard on the Highlander, and that could be one of the adjustments Toyota is making to the Highlander EV.
Toyota planned to offer the Highlander EV in a single-motor front-wheel-drive (FWD) variant with a 77-kWh battery pack and an estimated 287 miles of range or a dual-motor AWD model with an available 95.8-kWh pack and 320 miles of range. The single-motor version would be less expensive, but automakers often launch the cheaper model after the fully loaded launch vehicle. Pricing has not been announced and we’re not expecting it any time soon.
The Highlander EV shares a platform with the forthcoming Lexus TZ and Subaru Getaway 3-row electric vehicles. There has been no announcement yet on whether the arrival of those vehicles will be delayed.
