The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series four-cylinder engine is a big hit with buyers, including those who have waited 18 months or more for a V8, according to the Japanese auto giant.
This comes at a time when the long-lasting 70 Series V8 LandCruiser, which has not been ordered for 18 months, faces new threats, the most recent being the planned implementation of emissions targets for new cars in Australia, which will penalise high-end vehicles. polluting vehicles.
A spokesperson for the Japanese auto giant said the “current order rate” for the 2. 8-liter, four-cylinder, six-speed diesel car, delayed last year, is “about double what we expected, with strong demand from the fleet. “[customers]. “
Toyota says many of the four-cylinder sales come from consumers who in the past were waiting for a V8 (for which there are still 12 months of backorders) and have been prioritized because of the long wait.
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“The four-cylinder is above what we thought. The uptake in fleets in particular, for the 2. 8 and the car, has been exceptional,” Sean Hanley, director of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia, told Drive.
“A lot of other people who drive [the four-cylinder] now realize what a wonderful car it is. I understand there will be die-hard customers of the V8, but we’re seeing positive adoption of the four-cylinder. “
When asked if the majority of four-cylinder consumers were new additions to the order bank, Mr. Hanley replied, “No, we’re talking about converting as commonly as possible to other people who have gotten orders for V8 engines. We need to prioritize them because they’ve been waiting for a long time. “
A Toyota Australia spokesperson told Drive that the estimated waiting time for a 4-cylinder 70 Series is between 4 and six months.
Hanley said the four-cylinder is “not incremental production,” but that Toyota had the same number of production slots as before, which it had to split between the V8 and four-cylinder models.
The 2. 8-liter “1GD” turbodiesel four-cylinder is much better than the 4. 5-liter “1VD” turbodiesel V8, as it is used in cars such as the HiLux, HiAce, and Prado.
The advent of the 2. 8-liter four-cylinder engine (and its precedence for V8 consumers) allows Toyota to shorten the V8’s tail, as it is not sure it will be able to fulfill all orders for the 4. 5-liter 1VD engine before it is exiled by new emissions. standards, or some other reason.
“We’re racing to verify [buyers’ conversion to four-cylinder engines],” Hanley said.
“We still have V8s right now, and we’ll see once we find out how many other people are willing to switch to four-cylinders. . . what is our final figure to succeed with the V8s. Then we’re going to start discussing whether we can get those cars. “
He said Toyota would reopen orders for the 70-series LandCruiser V8 “until we are confident in our ability to deliver those cars to the customer. “
Orders may never reopen, as reports claim that production of some 70-series V8 frame styles could also end later this year, and for the rest of the lineup by the middle of next year.
Journalist