Toyota Delays 2027 Highlander BEV Production
SkimNews Take
Toyota's BEV delay underscores how hybrid dominance lets consumer demand — not regulatory or competitive pressure — set the pace of three-row electrification, inverting the usual pattern where automakers lead the transition.
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- Toyota has delayed production of the 2027 Highlander BEV, its first three-row electric SUV, with a spokesperson telling Cars.com the pause is for "additional adjustments to the vehicle prior to launch" — no new start date has been announced.
- Toyota will continue building the current 2026 Highlander through December in gas and hybrid configurations, with those models expected to remain on dealer lots well into 2027 while the EV version is on hold.
- Toyota sold over 100,000 Highlanders and Grand Highlanders in the US through June, compared with just under 22,000 electric vehicles combined in the same period, a ratio the Electrek piece flags as the likely real reason for the delay.
- Kia EV9 sales are up 42% from 2025 through June and Hyundai IONIQ 9 sales are up 380%, while Tesla launched the three-row Model Y L in the US last week at $61,990 — all arriving into a gap the Highlander BEV was supposed to fill at roughly $50,000.
- Highlander BEV was planned with two battery options (77 kWh or 95.8 kWh) delivering up to 287 or 320 miles of range in FWD form, and a standard AWD Limited grade rated at 338 hp and 323 lb-ft of torque.
- Lexus TZ and Subaru Getaway, two other three-row EVs sharing the Highlander BEV's modified TNGA-K platform, could face the same delay, though neither has been officially addressed by Toyota yet.
Why it matters: Toyota sold over 100,000 Highlanders versus roughly 22,000 EVs through June, so every month of delay preserves its higher-margin gas-and-hybrid cash cow while rivals — Kia up 42%, Hyundai up 380%, Tesla's new Model Y L at $61,990 — crowd into the three-row EV segment Toyota was about to undercut at around $50,000.
