The Land Cruiser is one of Toyota's most iconic nameplates — and it's one that's evolving. The all-new Land Cruiser coming to America next year will be offered exclusively as a four-cylinder hybrid; perhaps more controversially, there should also be an electric Land Cruiser vehicle arriving in the not-too-distant future. How do we know? Because Toyota offered a preview of what that may look like with the Land Cruiser Se concept at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.
Here's what you need to know about Toyota's future electric Land Cruiser.
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The electric Land Cruiser should be bigger than the 2024 model
Toyota
Toyota's Land Cruiser Se concept is a three-row SUV. The brand kindly provided the vehicle's dimensions: The Land Cruiser Se concept is about nine inches longer than the 2024 Land Cruiser with an eight-inch longer wheelbase. It will also be shorter heightwise by 6 inches. As you can see from the concept, expect a production Land Cruiser EV to be less boxy and more aerodynamic than the new ICE model, with features like a sloping roof.
The electric Land Cruiser should use a unibody EV platform
Toyota
The current Land Cruiser employs a body-on-frame truck platform. However, the electric Land Cruiser Se concept switches to a unibody platform designed for electric vehicles. Toyota still promises the Land Cruiser Se has "highly responsive handling and confidence tackling rough terrain." The "high-torque" driving experience from the electric powertrain should also help in that department.
In short, Toyota may take on the Range Rover with a vehicle structured far more like the Range Rover.
Expect the electric Land Cruiser to be fancy
Toyota
Toyota stresses the electric Land Cruiser Se's "elegant, stylish design" and its "BEV quietness" on the road. The concept skews very much toward the luxury end of the spectrum.
When will the electric Land Cruiser arrive?
Toyota
Toyota has not revealed a timeline for a Land Cruiser EV yet. We can say that the renderings look some way off for production. Delivering such a vehicle would require Toyota to develop a new platform and bring its next-gen battery tech into production.
One timeline to consider may be Lexus going all-electric by 2030. This electric Land Cruiser looks like it could — like the J300 model — make sense in America as a Lexus LX. So, sometime in the 2028-2030 range may be the best bet.
