Toyota Teases Iconic Land Cruiser's Likely Return to U.S.

The globally iconic Toyota Land Cruiser off-road SUV is the automaker's longest-running model, since 1951—just no longer in the U.S. as of 2021, for whatever reason. There's now a new global Land Cruiser, the J300 Series, and we still get the Lexus LX luxury SUV that's based on that global model here. However, our options may be expanding beyond Lexus once again in a few years time, according to Jack Hollis, executive vice president of sales for Toyota Motor North America.

In an interview with MotorTrend following news of the all-new 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander three-row SUV, Hollis was asked if a storied nameplate like the Land Cruiser would ever make its return stateside, and the answer was promising: "Will we ever? I would say likely yes," Asked if it would be in the foreseeable future, he said we would have to wait for an answer on that one.

Update, June 13, 2023: Toyota has posted a video showing the classic Land Cruiser nameplate in various colorways over various generations to its social media accounts captioned: "Nothing better than a comeback story. The legend returns…" In the comments, the Toyota account denied more details, as they're "just the social team." The rest of this article and interview with Jack Hollis continues as originally published in December, 2022.

"Obviously Land Cruiser is such an important part of our heritage and has done such a great job. And I'll be looking at it, absolutely. Have I seen designs, thoughts, and hopes, yes. But nothing to announce. It's still a ways off," Hollis added.

So it's certainly not confirmed, but it's a much stronger answer than we were expecting. Then again, even last year's Land Cruiser departure announcement came with a wink, with Toyota encouraging "loyal enthusiasts and intrepid adventurers to stay tuned for future developments."

The current global Land Cruiser is built on the new body-on-frame GA-F framework based on its TNGA platform, which our current Lexus LX is also built from. Focusing on the U.S. market, the new fourth-generation LX SUV got a significant update recently. Its 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine bumped output up 28 horsepower and 78 lb-ft of torque, now totaling 409 hp and 479 lb-ft, and it's linked to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Toyota says the new platform lowered the center of gravity with improved weight distribution; the global Land Cruiser also shed 441 pounds of weight.

However, it sounds like we should be looking beyond the current J300 series Land Cruiser to whatever the next generation model may look like, which will almost certainly need to be electrified, either hybrid or full battery-electric. Toyota's EV plans are reportedly in flux with the automaker devoting more resources to expedite its EV offerings, though no specific models have been teased, and the existing EV concepts may no longer be on the cards. Still, Hollis' comment is a promising start to whatever's next, and it sounds like still they have some confident ideas for the next Land Cruiser, at the very least.