The real reason the 200 Series stuck around for so long: Toyota chief on why the LandCruiser 300 Series took forever to arrive, and why the LC400 is closer than you think

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The LC400 is closer than you think
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
18 Feb 2022
3 min read

Toyota has become infamous for the time it takes to reveal new LandCruiser models, with the gap between the launch of the 200 Series and the new LC300 stretching an incredible 14 years in Australia.

A reminder that most new cars are refreshed after around four years, and fully replaced after around eight, which means fans of Toyota's iconic off-roader were left twiddling their thumbs for a further six years waiting on the new LC300.

But those mammoth wait times are set to shrink, according to Toyota's global boss, Akio Toyoda, which means the LC400 could come rumbling into frame far sooner than we've come to expect.

The problem, Mr Toyoda says, was that the company prioritised the brand's best-selling vehicles globally, leaving vehicles like the LandCruiser to wither on the vine. While models like the Corolla – or more recently, the RAV4 – underwent regular updates and refreshes, the LandCruiser did not.

"We used to prioritise profits above all else, followed by quantity. Boosting quantity would also boost profits. I think Toyota used to prioritise making cars that would sell well, leading to greater profits," Mr Toyota said.

"Meanwhile, cars that didn’t sell well and were not very profitable, but were sought after by the market, such as the Coaster commercial vehicle, or the LandCruiser, which is a strong part of people’s daily lives, became subject to longer model change cycles.

"Only cars that sell well underwent model changes every four years. I think everyone used to take this for granted and no one ever questioned it."

But while the LandCruiser models of old were subject to this long turnaround, Mr Toyoda has essentially split his business into divisions, with the LandCruiser handled by an area called Toyota Auto Body.

This, he says, will means each division can prioritise the order of vehicle releases, based not just on sales or profitability but also on the "passion" behind each model.

"We did this because we wanted to establish a system that would allow Toyota and its affiliated companies to focus with passion on their own models, instead of prioritisng models based on how well they sold or how profitable they were," he says.

"This resulted in Century, Coaster and LandCruiser undergoing model changes.

"This is our order of priority in developing products. I believe it’s important to not only reduce costs as much as possible, but also to adhere to a philosophy, which in turn allows you to build skills accordingly."

What does it all mean? That the LC300 should now slip into Toyota's regular schedule – meaning the wait for an LC400 shouldn't be quite so painful this time around.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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