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A US report claims the next generation of the popular seven-seat SUV will drop petrol and hybrid power as Toyota plans to beef up its portfolio of electric models.
The next generation of the top-selling Toyota Kluger family SUV could be sold exclusively with electric power, according to an unverified overseas report.
US website CarBuzz claims the seven-seat Kluger – sold as the Highlander in North America – is planned to drop petrol and hybrid power in its next iteration, planned to be built at a factory in Kentucky.
Toyota has previously confirmed plans to build a large, seven-seat electric SUV at the Kentucky plant from 2025.
It was previously assumed the unnamed model would adopt the BZ5X badge – in line with its growing BZ (Beyond Zero) family of electric vehicles – but if the CarBuzz report is accurate, the vehicle may adopt the Kluger name.
Drive has previously reported the new large Toyota electric SUV is due to spawn a Lexus version, expected to be called the TZ – much in the same way the Lexus LX is based on the Toyota LandCruiser.
The electric-only Kluger would be built at the firm’s Kentucky plant, with batteries made at its new production facility in North Carolina, according to CarBuzz.
The new large Toyota electric SUV is thought to have been previewed by a BZ Large SUV concept unveiled by the car giant in 2021.
The current Kluger line-up in Australia is powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine or a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid. V6 power was dropped in early 2023.
After coming under fire in recent years for being slow to join the electric race – even though it was first to launch a mass-produced hybrid, in the Prius introduced overseas in 1997 – Toyota has announced plans to roll out an assortment of electric vehicles in the coming years.
“We have always been committed to building BEVs [battery-electric vehicles],” David Christ, the general manager of the Toyota division in the US, told CarBuzz following this week’s debut of the 2025 4Runner four-wheel drive.
“And you’re going to see more BEVs from us in the future.”
In Australia, Toyota currently only offers one electric model, the recently-arrived BZ4X, while its luxury division Lexus offers two – the UX300e and RZ300e SUVs.
While the Kluger/Highlander is reportedly due to go electric, the Grand Highlander – an enlarged version of the Kluger sold only in North America, with its own Lexus TX sibling – is planned to keep a petrol engine, according to CarBuzz.
The current Grand Highlander and Lexus TX unveiled in the US in 2023 are not manufactured in right-hand drive, meaning a future electric iteration of the regular Kluger would spell the end of petrol power for the nameplate in Australia.
The post Next Toyota Kluger to go electric – report appeared first on Drive.
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