Lexus currently has one electric car, the RZ. The brand is planning to be all-electric by 2030. That’s going to mean a lot of new Lexus electric vehicles being launched over the next few years to replace their combustion counterparts. One that may arrive soon is the new TZ crossover.
Here’s what you need to know about the Lexus TZ.
Toyota filed for a Lexus TZ trademark
Toyota filed trademark applications in Europe for “Lexus TZ450e” and “Lexus TZ550e.” Those trademarks fit Lexus’s EV nomenclature; its current electric car is the RZ 450e. The 450e and 550e designations suggest there will be a base and more powerful model. The RZ is about the size of the RX crossover. So our best guess is that the TZ would be a three-row model about the size of the new TX.
Lexus may have already shown a preview of the new TZ
Toyota unveiled a smorgasbord of EV concepts in 2021, including exciting things like an apparent electric Tacoma. One of the models shown was a “Lexus Electrified SUV” that resembles a three-row crossover. It also looks like the twin of a Toyota bZ large SUV on the same stage.
Toyota already announced it is building a three-row electric SUV for America
Toyota confirmed it is building a three-row electric SUV in a Management Policy and Direction Announcement from April 2023. The vehicle will be built in America at a plant in North Carolina and arrive in 2025.
We don’t know that Toyota is building a Lexus version of it there. But the TX is related to the Toyota Grand Highlander. And it would be more surprising if Toyota didn’t have plans for a Lexus version.
When will the Lexus TZ arrive?
We don’t know yet. Toyota and Lexus are due to launch a new, more capable EV platform with next-gen batteries in 2026. The TZ could arrive as part of that wave of new vehicles. The project could also predate that new platform and hit the market before those vehicles in 2025.
