Toyota delays three-row SUV for the US

03 October 2024

Toyota, once the car industry's most staunch EV skeptic, has recently changed its stance somewhat, announcing it would invest $11.2 billion in EV R&D. Back in February, it also revealed that it was working on an all new three-row SUV for the US market, which would be built at its flagship facility in Kentucky.

This project has now been delayed, according to a new report from Nikkei Asia. Production of the SUV will be pushed back to the first half of 2026. The reason? You've probably heard this one before - slowing EV sales. More and more people are choosing hybrids over pure EVs, since the former are more affordable than the latter.

The SUV was previously slated to start production next year, following a $1.3 billion investment in the Kentucky plant. The company has allegedly informed suppliers that the start date will now be delayed by "several months".

For what it's worth, Toyota attributed the delay, in part, to adjustments in the vehicle's design. It plans to "give careful consideration" to a new production start date. Toyota plans to launch 10 new EVs worldwide by 2026, and this will be one of them. It aims to ship 1.5 million EVs globally by 2026 - at least that was the official plan. It allegedly recently told suppliers that the figure would be lowered to 1 million.

The brand has also given up on producing Lexus EVs in North America by 2030, opting instead to import them from Japan. However, it still expects the North American EV market to grow over the long term, and plans to continue investing in the field.