11-03-2025
Toyota likely to bring 2nd EV to U.S. lineup in 2026 with compact C-HR+
BRUSSELS — The Toyota brand is widely expected to add a second electric vehicle to its U.S. lineup, a two-row that will slot below the bZ4X crossover. And it will have a familiar name.
The 2026 Toyota C-HR+ is a coupe-styled crossover that was primarily designed for Europe, where it is expected to go on sale this year. It was revealed to journalists here this month.
While Toyota Motor North America has not confirmed that the C-HR+ will be sold in the U.S., it is expected to be added early next year, in part to give the automaker another nameplate to sell to meet tough Advanced Clean Car II sales regulations in six states that go into effect with the 2026 model year.
Built on the automaker's e-TNGA dedicated battery-electric vehicle platform, it's unclear whether the specifications for the C-HR+ that would be sold in the U.S. will be the same as the European version. There, the C-HR+ will be offered in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, with a 57.7 kilowatt-hour or 77 kWh battery pack.
Sign up for our daily First Shift morning newscast email for a quick video to start your day.
Toyota discontinued the C-HR in the U.S. after the 2022 model year, when it was replaced with the Corolla Cross. In the U.S., the C-HR was available only in fwd and equipped with a 144-hp 2.0-liter gasoline engine. Sales in the U.S. reached 42,936 in 2020, but by 2022 had dwindled to just 12,141. Sales were hampered by its small size and lack of an awd version — drawbacks rectified by the larger and more diverse U.S.-built Corolla Cross.
The two-row C-HR+ EV hatchback has much of the C-HR's styling cues, including its aggressive stance and coupelike sloping C-pillar and rear. However, it is about 5 inches longer than the previous gasoline-powered version, with a much longer wheelbase for a better ride and handling. As a result of the size difference and its electric powertrain, the C-HR+ has a much larger cabin than its combustion-powered predecessor.
'The dedicated platform gave us a lot of freedom, but we knew from the start that we wanted to bring all of the passion, emotion and success from the [combustion] C-HR to the BEV space,' Masaya Uchiyama, Toyota's chief engineer for electric vehicles, told journalists here. The two cars 'share the same DNA, but under the skin, the architecture is entirely different.'
Toyota is expected to announce pricing and U.S. specs for the C-HR+ this year. When it becomes available to Toyota dealers in the U.S., it would give them another EV to sell alongside the bZ4X, which is getting a mid-cycle refresh to add range and better battery management, among other changes. The C-HR+ would theoretically make it somewhat less difficult for Toyota to meet the ACC II regulation set to go into effect in California and five other states this year, which mandates that automakers achieve at least a 35 percent sales threshold in each state for zero-emission vehicles.
Toyota and its dealers have been lobbying Congress, the Trump administration and states to at least postpone — if not kill — the ACC II mandate, saying it is far ahead of where consumer demand for EVs is. So far, those lobbying efforts have not been successful.
Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
