Toyota will reportedly break with more than 70 years of tradition by producing two new ones LandCruiserModels – a crew cab and an SUV – are based on a monocoque platform rather than a ladder frame like all Toyota off-road vehicles since the original 1953 “Toyota Jeep BJ”.
According to the Japanese release Best carThe first LandCruiser models, which do not feature a robust body-on-frame construction, will instead be supported by an automobile-like unibody architecture – and offered with hybrid or all-electric powertrains.
Although there is no confirmation from Toyota, Best car says the Japanese giant’s two new electrified off-roaders will be production versions of the EPU Dual-Cab Pickup and LandCruiser Se SUV concept cars unveiled at the 2023 Tokyo Motor Show.
With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
Both the EPU and LandCruiser SE concepts were purely battery powered, but Best car says gasoline-electric hybrid powertrains are also possible for its showroom iterations.
The SUV will reportedly launch in 2028 with the LandCruiser Sport nameplate, but no timing has been given for the dual-cab model, which would theoretically be a competitor to compact car-based “lifestyle” dual-cabs such as the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, neither of which are sold in Australia.
However, Toyota announced production versions of both the EPU and LandCruiser se back in March 2025 and said that both electric vehicles (EVs) would be launched by 2026 – at least in Europe.
And then in May 2025, Toyota USA Chief Operating Officer Mark Templin confirmed that the Japanese automaker was “considering” introducing a smaller pickup truck to slot under the brand’s Tacoma, which North American markets will receive in place of the HiLux.
Unlike Toyota’s existing LandCruiser 70 Series and HiLux ute models – and almost all of their competitors – the Toyota EPU concept featured an integrated (rather than separate) rear shelf, like almost all Holden utes until they were discontinued in 2017.
In the meantime, Best car suggests the new LandCruiser Sport SUV will offer up to three rows of seating, as the LandCruiser se concept was even larger than Toyota’s existing 300-series flagship.
Toyota has long promised a hybrid version of all non-GR models in its lineup, and the first gasoline-electric LandCruiser will be the 300 Series Hybrid in 2026, which takes its V6-based hybrid powertrain from the full-size Tundra pickup.
However, electrification for the LandCruiser Prado 250 Series launched last year has so far been limited to a mild-hybrid 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine from the HiLux, and electric support for the venerable 70 Series seems even further away – if at all.
Toyota Australia went a step further than hybrid powertrains and showed great interest in the all-electric EPU and LandCruiser se concepts when they were introduced in Japan two years ago.
“This shows you we are ready. We are prepared. And when these cars go into production, I can assure you that Australia, particularly LandCruiser, will be the first country to get them,” Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, told media at the 2023 Tokyo show.
“LandCruiser is Toyota’s iconic off-road brand with more than 10 million sales worldwide.
“That’s why it’s important that this vehicle gets an electric option, and today we’re taking a look at what the first electric LandCruiser might actually look like.”
MORE: Explore the Toyota LandCruiser showroom
