LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Toyota's Indiana and Kentucky factories are only about 186 miles apart. And by 2026, each plant will be making a distinct electric SUV with three rows of seats.
The Japanese automaker said Thursday that it will spend $1.4 billion to add an unspecified three-row EV to its Princeton, Ind. plant.
That's on top of the previously disclosed $1.3 billion Toyota is pouring into its Georgetown, Ky. factory to make a different 3-row EV, which is also slated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026.
Toyota confirmed that, while the electric SUVs sound similar, they will be distinct vehicles.
"More details on both products will be available at a later date," spokesperson Stacy Carr said.
The world's largest automaker, a leader in gas-electric hybrids, has proceeded more cautiously than rivals into the EV thicket. But its EV plans have come into focus during the last year.
The EV coming to its Kentucky factory will be Toyota's first fully electric car made in the U.S. That vehicle and the one planned for Indiana will use batteries made at Toyota's North Carolina battery plant currently under construction.
Three-row SUVs are one of the most popular segments in the U.S. auto industry, and there are few EV versions of them. Existing options include the Rivian RS1 and Tesla Model X.
At the same time, the growth rate of electric cars has slowed, leading automakers to slash prices and to delay plans to bring EVs to market while they hunt for cost breakthroughs.
Ford Motor Co. is also planning an electric three-row SUV, but the Detroit automaker decided earlier this month to delay that vehicle from 2025-27.
"We need more cost to come out of that (SUV) for that to be at the margin levels we expect," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler told analysts on a call Wednesday.
Toyota appears to be betting that, by late 2026, more buyers will be considering EVs, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at consulting firm AutoForecast Solutions.
"It's more than just getting the cost out; it is waiting for the buyers to show up," he said. "The market for EVs in general, the growth is slowing, and if you are going to introduce high-volume EVs, you need people to show up to buy them."
Fiorani sees Toyota using the "Highlander" model name for the EV it plans to make in Kentucky. (The Princeton plant currently assembles the gas-powered 3-row Highlander and Grand Highlander as well as the Sienna minivan and Lexus TX SUV.)
Plans to for the EV to be made in Indiana are less clear, he said, but he expects it to be "a little more rugged and tailored to 'SUV' buyers along the lines of a Land Cruiser."
Robby DeGraff, manager of product and consumer insights at AutoPacific, said the just-announced EV will likely "be larger, perhaps better suited to soon battle other electric family haulers like Kia's EV9 and those on the way from other automakers."
"I predict it'll be closely related sizing-wise to Toyota's gas-powered Grand Highlander, which has been a massive success for the the brand since launch," he said in an email.
