The Toyota Kluger is a popular SUV nameplate in Australia, but while the Japanese brand’s local division says its future is safe here, there are still no plans to bring the recently revealed all-electric model Down Under.
In an interview with childcareman.xyz, Toyota Australia vice president for sales and marketing John Pappas said ‘The Kluger is very good for us in Australia we will keep that nameplate.
Regardless of the US BEV, we’re always looking at options about what is available to us in Australia – that car in right-hand drive can’t be found. If it ever does, we will always look at it.
Mr Pappas said ‘We’re not sure we’re getting that car here because it isn’t available for our market, but if the car ever went on to be available then we would very much consider this for my market as a BEV.
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2027 Toyota Highlander BEV
In February, Toyota USA revealed the all-new 2027 Highlander as an all-electric three-row SUV to rival the likes of the Kia EV9, and it will succeed the current petrol and hybrid Highlander (known here as the Kluger) in North America later this year. Buyers there who want a three-row SUV but who don’t want an EV will still have the option of the larger Grand Highlander, which isn’t offered in Australia.
The 2027 Toyota Highlander EV also forms the basis of the new Subaru Getaway, a lightly restyled version of the Highlander EV which will also be exclusive to North America, at least initially.
The new Toyota EV’s timing is interesting, given Toyota only just started selling the US-built Highlander Hybrid in Japan as part of a new initiative to improve Japan-US trade relations (which also sees the Tundra marketed there), with the American-assembled petrol and hybrid family SUV exported from the States to a number of global markets including Australia and South Korea.
After revealing the new Highlander SUV, Toyota Australia told childcareman.xyz it has no plans to drop the Kluger Hybrid — possibly hinting at a big update for markets outside North America. It’s also worth mentioning the Highlander/Kluger is produced in China by the FAW Toyota joint venture for the domestic market, where it’d be called the Crown Kluger, which has been an adaptation of Toyota’S long-running sub-brand.
Last year last year the brand’s joint venture with GAC Toyota confirmed that the next-generation Highlander in China will be offered a range-extender EV (EREV) powertrain option as part of its strategy to better tailor core models for Chinese market. This Highlander EREV is not entirely clear whether this will be based on the new Highlanders EV, the existing Highlands or another vehicle.
2026 Toyota Kluger Grande HEV
The new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) supports multiple powertrain types – ie hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric (EV), as demonstrated by the latest Lexus ES offering hybrid and electrical variants in its most recent generation. This variation of TNGA-K that underpins the new ES also supports the current Highlander/Kluger and to this point, the newly introduced Highlanders EV.
The fourth-generation Toyota Kluger has been on sale in Australia since 2021, and was launched globally back in 2019. Since mid-way through 2024, the Kluger has been exclusively offered with a hybrid powertrain in Australia, but has previously been available with V6 petrol and four-cylinder turbo-petrol engines.
It consistently ranks among Australia’s favourite large SUVs, though plays second fiddle to the similarly sized Toyota LandCruiser Prado, which last year outsold it by over three-to-one.
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