Toyota filed trademark applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the British Intellectual Property Office for two new Lexus model names, Lexus RX Owner’s Forum discovered. One name is the Lexus TZ450e, the other the Lexus TZ550e. There are no such Lexus models on sale anywhere in the world now. If the luxury brand’s naming conventions hold, the T suggests these are going to be three-row SUVs like the new TX, the Z suggests they’ll be battery-electric vehicles. Right now, the only battery-powered Lexus models on sale are the UX300e in international markets and the RZ450e sold here and elsewhere. The RZ450e uses an electric motor on each axle linked to a 71.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The front motor develops 201 horsepower, the rear axle e-motor generates 107 horsepower, for 308 hp and 320 pound-feet of torque.
If that powertrain were transferred complete into a coming three-row SUV, those output figures would certainly be decent. EPA range figures for the RZ aren’t out yet; Lexus estimates the crossover’s range checks in at 220 in base Premium trim on 18-inch wheels, 196 miles in the heavier Luxury trim fitted with 20-inch wheels. We suspect the larger platform on the three-row would translate to a larger battery that could at least manage these totals. Toyota’s planning a three-row bZ5X SUV for debut around 2025, perhaps for the 2026 model year. If the automaker’s new battery technology is ready for production then, the Toyota and Lexus haulers would be expected to make substantial improvements on the RZ figures, especially with a more powerful variant like a TZ550e bringing an even larger appetite for ions.
Toyota’s electrification targets have been through a few adjustments in the past few years. The image above came from the Lexus retail web site, so we’ll submit it as the most recent take on what a three-row Lexus SUV could look like. Not a bad place to put a TZ badge, if you ask us. The Toyota version is headed into production at the Georgetown Assembly Plant in Kentucky in two years, the batteries arriving from a new factory being built in North Carolina.
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