A Toyota executive in Australia has confirmed the Japanese firm has “no plans” to discontinue its Land Cruiser 70 Series range, but hinted the flagship 4,5-litre V8 turbodiesel engine will eventually have to be scrapped.
Speaking to motoring.com.au, Sean Hanley, the firm’s sales and marketing director Down Under, said the Land Cruiser 70 Series had “no end date”.
“I can assure Land Cruiser owners – farmers, tradespeople, mining, construction, industry in general, private buyers and both men and women of Australia – that Toyota will have a solution going forward regardless of legislation.
“That solution will see a change in powertrain, maybe not a change of car, but [a] change of powertrain.
“What we are very realistic about is that if you want hybrid, if you want plug-in hybrid, if you want electric, if you want fuel-cell to take off and be a reality of our world over the next five to 30 years, then it has to perform and it has to be able to service the needs of our diverse group of customers.
“I can tell you there’s no plan that I’m aware of to discontinue Land Cruiser,” he reiterated to the publication.
Hanley added he believed the 70 Series range would remain as capable as ever, even with the inevitable powertrain changes.
“The 70 Series will have to change, of course it does. But does that mean that it has to serve a capability less than what it does today? Not necessarily, just different.”
In South Africa, the 70 Series range currently comprises 79-badged bakkies (in single- and double-cab forms) and a 76-badged SUV (which Toyota SA bills as a station wagon). Engine options include a V6 petrol mill, a six-cylinder diesel unit and the aforementioned V8 turbodiesel.
See Full Toyota Land Cruiser 76 price and specs here
