Lexus could be taking on Kia EV9 with a seven-seat electric SUV

Lexus has trademarked the TZ name in Europe, pointing to a new three-row electric SUV.

The company has trademarked the TZ450e and TZ550e nameplates per a set of filings with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) found by a member of the Lexus RX Owners forum.

Given the RX is being joined by a larger, three-row model called the TX – ruled out for Australia – it’s therefore likely the TZ will be the three-row counterpart to the new RZ electric SUV.

Furthermore, Lexus and Toyota teased an array of 16 electric vehicle concepts at the end of 2021, and two were almost identical large SUVs – one with a Lexus front end, the other with a Toyota front end.

The Lexus model is the Electrified SUV concept, which the company later released more imagery of – but stopped short of releasing any technical specifications.

While Lexus typically uses different sheetmetal for its vehicles relative to the Toyotas they’re based on, the new Lexus TX and related Toyota Grand Highlander appear to share more than, for example, the RX and Kluger.

Lexus’ larger SUVs have also often made extensive use of Toyota sheetmetal – today’s LX, for example, started out as a simple rebadge of the LandCruiser, though it has gained more unique styling over the years.

The TZ450e nameplate suggests the entry-level version of this three-row SUV will use the same powertrain as the RZ450e, a dual-motor all-wheel drive set-up with 230kW of power.

The RZ450e uses a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with a combined cycle range of 470km according to lenient ADR testing, which is based on the NEDC protocols.

By 2030, Lexus will stop selling combustion-powered vehicles in regions such as North America, Europe and China. From 2035, Lexus will only sell electric vehicles globally.