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Toyota’s Reportedly Going Crazy with Its Future Land Cruiser Lineup

The Big T could be pulling a move from Land Rover’s playbook.

Glossy blue rear of a Land Cruiser vehicle with black lettering and a red taillight, reflecting trees and sky.Toyota USA
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By Chris Chin

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Toyota is apparently preparing to roll out its most radical change to the Land Cruiser lineup in decades. According to Japan’s BestCar magazine, the Big T could be pulling a move from Land Rover’s playbook and expanding the Land Cruiser range. The result would be a wide variety of Land Cruiser variations under the nameplate.

The plan reportedly is to essentially branch the Land Cruiser nameplate off into its own sub-brand. Then, product planners will roll out a bunch of different Land Cruiser models to provide customers options.

Seven Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs in various colors lined up on a dirt surface with rocky hills in the background.
The Land Cruiser lineup is set to expand to reportedly include more stylish and road-friendly unibody-based versions.
Toyota

While the idea of separating the Land Cruiser into different models isn’t new, the approach of expanding the nameplate into its own subdivision would be a first for Toyota.

Expanding the Land Cruiser family

Four Toyota SUVs in red, black, white, and black parked on grass with trees and mountains in the background.Toyota

In the 2000s, Land Rover shocked the world when it introduced its game-changing Range Rover Sport. It deviated from the full-size Range Rover’s off-road bias by essentially being a more road-going and friendlier spin-off.

The Range Rover Sport arrived to much protest from diehard traditionalists. But it ended up becoming one of the brand’s best-selling models. The formula was so successful, the British automaker even spun off the baby Evoque and the even more road-biased Velar.

Multiple Toyota Land Cruiser models in various colors displayed in a dark room with "LAND CRUISER" text on the back wall.
A unibody-based Land Cruiser would be a world’s first since they’ve all always featured body-on-frame platforms.
Toyota

Now, Toyota’s looking to copy that move by branching the Land Cruiser nameplate off into its own lineup.

According to BestCar, the plan stems from Toyota’s latest product strategy. While company has been openly reluctant to go all-in on electrification, it’s still willing to offer the propulsion type to its customers.

White Toyota Land Cruiser SUV driving on a dusty mountain dirt road with rugged hills in the background.
A more road-going, Range Rover Velar-like Land Cruiser SUV is supposedly in the works, a big departure from the traditional full-size model.
Toyota

Rather than commit to a fully-electric future, Toyota is quietly following other automakers and their multi-energy approach. The latter is the latest trend where automakers are producing several variants of a single model by offering them with the choice of electric, internal combustion and gas-electric hybrid propulsion.

For Toyota, that also even includes hydrogen fuel-cell power.

The world’s first unibody Land Cruiser could be happening

Three Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs in silver and white parked on rocky terrain with mountains in the background.
The Land Cruiser lineup is about to get significantly bigger.
Toyota

Not too long ago, BestCar previously reported that Toyota’s brewing up an unconventional unibody-based Land Cruiser pickup. Unconventional, because since the dawn of time, the Land Cruiser always utilized a rugged, body-on-frame truck platform and does so even today.

Black Toyota SUV driving through deep muddy water in a forested area.
The rest of the world still gets the full-size Land Cruiser, while us Yanks make do with the smaller, Land Cruiser Prado (250 Series).
Toyota

That new monocoque Land Cruiser will supposedly be one of many. The original report indicates that the first model will be a unibody, all-electric Land Cruiser pickup.

But Toyota isn’t just stopping there. The new car-based Land Cruiser will even include a more road-friendly and more stylish SUV, a la Range Rover Sport and Velar.

Multiple Toyota Land Cruiser models in various colors displayed under bright lights with "LAND CRUISER" text in the background.
Do you think a car-based Land Cruiser SUV and pickup will do well?
Toyota

Specifics aren’t out yet. But speculation points at the use of either an all-electric or gas-electric powertrain as the propulsion options.

Estimated debut date? Sometime in 2028.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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