In many cases, manufacturers would rather delay a launch than rush a vehicle into production only to deal with quality issues or early recalls later.
Toyota did not elaborate on what those “final adjustments” involve, nor did it indicate whether the production delay will have any impact on the Highlander’s planned retail launch.
The company also didn’t provide a revised production start date.
It’s unclear at this point if the delay will affect the Subaru Getaway or the Lexus TZ, the two other SUVs that share the same platform as the Highlander.
To that end, we’ve reached out to both companies for further information.
Interestingly, Toyota confirmed to Cars.
com that production of the gas and hybrid versions of the Highlander will continue through December of this year.
The report questions whether Toyota might simply be delaying the EV to rake in more profit on the gas-burning versions.
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Either way, the brand has committed to moving to an EV-only platform soon.
