AS TOYOTA LAND CRUISERS GO ON SALE, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SNAG ONE?
- Toyota says that the 2024 Land Cruiser is starting to arrive at U.S. dealerships.
- Here's what you need to know about allocation, timing, reservations, and other dealership info.
- The Land Cruiser First Edition starts at $76,345, and the base 1958 model costs $57,345.
We'd imagine people are already lining up at Toyota dealerships across the country to join the waiting list for the new 2024 Land Cruiser, and we now have more inside information on the sales rollout for this highly anticipated SUV.
A Toyota representative told C/D that the Land Cruiser First Edition (pictured at top) is starting to arrive at dealerships now. This model represents the first 5000 units of the Land Cruiser to reach the U.S. Toyota is not taking reservations on a corporate level, and says that "all transactions are handled through our dealers." We found several Toyota dealerships taking online reservations, but prospective buyers should know that there is no corporate oversight for this process.
Toyota also emphasizes that the Land Cruiser's MSRP, which sits at $76,345 for the First Edition including the mandatory destination charge, is indeed "suggested by the manufacturer," and final transaction prices will be "the result of interactions between the customer and the dealer." This sounds like a recipe for price gouging, and we're sure that will take place in many cases with such a high-interest new vehicle, but Toyota does say that it has informed regional sales offices to be "aware of transaction prices and consult with dealers as needed."
Where to Look
If you're looking to score one of the first new Land Cruisers, where's a good place to start? A source with inside dealer knowledge who asked to remain anonymous told C/D that Toyota will decide allocation for the Land Cruiser based on past sales of the 4Runner. This means that dealerships that have sold more 4Runners in the past will get more new Land Cruiser inventory. Toyota says that the top three areas for 4Runner sales are the Southeast region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina), the Gulf States region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas), and the Denver, Colorado, area. In other words, these are the states to start your search if you want to find the dealerships that will be getting the most units of the new Cruiser.
What about the Cheaper Trims?
What if you're willing to wait a bit longer? There are two cheaper models, the $57,345 1958 trim and the $63,345 Land Cruiser trim, scheduled to arrive next in Toyota showrooms Our source at Toyota told us there "will not be a large lag" before these models start hitting dealerships. There's likely to be a rush on the first units of these trims, too, but it may not last forever, as Toyota is aiming to build a far higher number of this iteration of the Land Cruiser than it has in the past.
Toyota confirmed that it plans to grow sales volume in the future, and our source tells us that Toyota plans to roughly triple production compared with before. That could mean selling over 10,000 units per year in the U.S., as the previous-generation Land Cruiser sold between around 3000 and 3500 units annually in its last few years on sale in America.
Land Cruiser vs. 4Runner
The timing of the Land Cruiser's arrival—and the 4Runner-based dealership allocation—is especially interesting because of the impending arrival of a new 2025 4Runner. While we don't have exact details on when that redesigned model will arrive, Toyota just teased the new model and we recently spotted a prototype testing out in the wild, suggesting its launch is imminent. Given the new Land Cruiser's smaller size and lower price, there will be much more overlap between the two off-road-oriented SUVs than before.
Once the 4Runner goes on sale, possibly later this year, we wouldn't be surprised if it eases Land Cruiser demand somewhat, as the 4Runner is likely to be cheaper and sell in higher volumes given the model's positioning historically. Either way, it will be interesting to see how things shake out with Toyota's burgeoning off-road-SUV lineup over the next few months.
Looking to purchase a car? Find your match on the MSN Autos Marketplace 2024-03-28T20:36:45Z dg43tfdfdgfd