Toyota to Spend $1.9B in Indiana, Likely for All-Electric Highlander
On the same day Honda confirmed plans to invest $15 billion for four future EV, battery and battery material plants in Ontario, rival Toyota announced it will spend the equivalent of $1.9 billion at its Princeton, Indiana assembly plant to build a new three-row electric vehicle starting in 2026.
The money will not only provide plant infrastructure to build the vehicle, but it will also add a new battery pack assembly line using lithium-ion batteries from another Toyota facility in North Carolina, which is slated to begin production in 2025.
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Toyota currently manufactures the Sienna minivan as well as the Highlander, Grand Highlander and Lexus TX midsize SUVs in Princeton.
Word has spread over the past few days that the next-generation Highlander will be electric-only, leaving its big brother with gasoline and hybrid options. That would make sense especially when considering that Highlander sales have been freefalling in the U.S. and Canada since the introduction of the roomier and more accommodating Grand Highlander.
Toyota has offered no specifics about the identity or technical aspects of the future electric vehicle to be built in Indiana.
Incidentally, today’s announcement is unrelated to the $1.8 billion investment Toyota has planned to produce a separate three-row electric SUV in Georgetown, Kentucky. That vehicle will be an all-new model using a different architecture and likely to be sold as bZ5X.
After taking its sweet time launching its first battery electric vehicle, the bZ4X, and facing plenty of criticism even since then, Toyota appears to be serious about stepping up its game and closing the gap with the competition. Stay tuned for more news about future Toyota EV models.