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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.
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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.
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