TOKYO—Toyota Motor is bringing a long-running icon of off-roading back to the U.S.
At an event in Tokyo on Wednesday, Toyota showed off a new Land Cruiser, reminiscent of boxy pre-2000s versions of the sport-utility vehicle. The company said it plans to bring the new vehicle to the U.S. next year, two years after discontinuing the Land Cruiser in that market.
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The move resembles Ford’s decision in 2020 to relaunch its previously discontinued off-roading SUV, the Bronco.
Like the Bronco, the new Land Cruiser could put further pressure on rival Jeep’s position in the “adventure vehicle” category. Car companies in recent years have been crowding showrooms with new versions of SUVs and other big, higher-profit vehicles.
The Land Cruiser discontinued in the U.S. in 2021 hadn’t received a major update in years. Starting at upward of $80,000, it struggled to compete in the high-price segment, though it retained a following among some off-road enthusiasts.
The U.S. price of the new Land Cruiser will start in the mid-$50,000s.
Toyota is marketing the new model as an SUV for people who actually drive off-road, rather than just daydreaming about it. “At the heart of this is reliability and durability and performance over rough terrain,” said Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries. He called it “proud to be raw and utilitarian.”
Humphries said the company welcomes competition from off-roading-SUV rivals. “It’s like a sports car—there are Land Cruiser guys and there are Bronco guys. Everyone has their own preference,” he said.
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The new Land Cruiser will go on sale next year in the U.S. as a hybrid vehicle, underscoring Toyota’s resolve to continue making gasoline-electric cars even as more customers choose fully battery-powered models.
Toyota introduced the Land Cruiser in the 1950s for what was then known as Japan’s National Police Reserve, a predecessor to today’s Ground Self Defense Force—that is, the army. Its name was a nod to Britain’s Land Rover.
Through the years, the Land Cruiser became popular in places with rough terrain such as Australia and the Middle East. Icelandic glaciers, Australian underground mines and other locales with extreme conditions are a staple of Toyota promotions.
The company said that as of June 2023 it had sold 11.3 million Land Cruiser models globally over the years.
Its moment in the sun in the U.S. came around the turn of the century, when Americans were buying more than 15,000 Land Cruisers annually. By the time it was discontinued in 2021, annual sales had dwindled to just a few thousand units, less than 1% of sales of Toyota’s RAV4 SUV.
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The new Land Cruiser has high-mounted headlights and a simple, angular structure. Humphries said the design had evolved naturally in a direction that recalled older models because the priority was functionality. Some recent Land Cruiser models had aimed for more of a luxury feel.
